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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807897">The Crimson Dream</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftpetals/pseuds/swiftpetals'>swiftpetals</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Amy as the villain, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Phantom Ruby is a corrupting influence, Recon mission gone wrong, Shades of Shadamy, Sonic Forces, We mostly get Amy's side of things - Freeform, implied Sonamy, you'll see why as we go</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:35:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>63,054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22807897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftpetals/pseuds/swiftpetals</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sonic's world is turned upside down as Eggman finally finds a way to get under his skin. Nothing is making sense anymore. How in the world did Egghead get all his old enemies to work together? Why is Amy suddenly the villain? And, did she just imply he was the clingy one? That's it. He was putting an end to this right now. </p><p>Can't a guy's life be simple for once? Defeat the Villain. Save the girl. Get rewarded with cake, repeat. She just had to make herself the bad guy. How am I supposed to save the day now, Amy? I-I can't hurt you.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amy Rose/Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy Rose/Sonic the Hedgehog</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Destroyed Faith</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong> <em>Destroyed Faith</em> </strong>
</h3><p>
  <em>Joke Summary: In which Shadow really will do anything Amy says so long as Maria might have wanted it. </em>
</p><hr/><p>To say Shadow was weary was an understatement. Rose had requested his presence in Mystic Jungle in an area Eggman was in the middle of converting into a casino. Of course, if one ignored the fact that the doctor was behind this sudden intrusion of technology into a previously pristine and ancient place, Luminous Forest was indeed a sight to behold. He could see the appeal of dazzling neon lights against the dark jungle backdrop and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. In many ways, she was still just a girl after all. He’d heard talk of Eggman obtaining a power that rivaled the Chaos Emeralds, and if this stretch of jungle was any indication, he was becoming bolder in his attempts to conquer the planet. It’s no surprise that Sonic and his friends would ask for his help now that things were becoming serious.</p><p>Shadow found her near an ancient ruin that looked suspiciously like a refurbished Eggman base with it’s stylized lights and iron vault, but he could ignore that for now. Something was off. He wasn’t sure what to make of her new outfit, but reminded himself again that she was quite young and that when Sonic wasn’t involved, imitation was the sincerest form of flattery. With that in mind, he chose no to comment on it and cut to the chase.</p><p>“Why did you ask for me, Rose?”</p><p>Amy sashayed over to him, hands behind her back as she batted her eyelashes. Yet another red flag but he kept silent even as she poked the tuft of hair on his chest. His eyes traveled to the strange gemstone just below her neck and started formulating a theory, one he desperately hoped wasn’t true.</p><p>Shadow wasn’t looking forward to telling Sonic the news if he was right.</p><p>“I need your help, Shadow, but I want to make it worth your while if you’ll let me,” Amy said, looking up at him with pleading eyes as she pressed her gloved hand against his heart.</p><p>Any other time, Shadow might have been the tiniest bit flustered by her unfortunate choice of words, but he was suspicious now and needed to gather more intel before possibly reporting back to the others on Amy’s strange behavior. That didn’t stop him from immediately pulling her hand away from his chest.</p><p>Shadow vowed to dismantle every single Eggman base in existence if the doctor had done anything to ruin her innocence. Why give her, of all hedgehogs, a gem that rivaled the Chaos Emeralds? If that were truly what he was witnessing now, she’d done nothing to suggest such power yet.</p><p>“What did you have in mind?” he asked as she flashed him a conniving smile.</p><p>“I’ve gotten myself in a bit of trouble. They didn't call me Rosy the Rascal for nothin. May I borrow your power, just for a little while? Otherwise, I’ll never get out from under Eggman’s thumb,” she said with a pout.</p><p>Shadow’s ears twitched, considering what she’d just told him. The situation certainly seemed to be exactly what he thought had happened, but she’d been annoyingly vague and hadn't given him any details on just what Eggman had done to her.</p><p>“Can you tell me more about what happened to you?” he asked softly.</p><p>Maybe, the event had been more traumatic than she let on. Shadow was well aware of what such an event could do to a person. Perhaps, that’s why she was acting strangely now.</p><p>Amy frowned and took a step back, keeping her focus on the ground below her.</p><p>“I’ve turned into someone else. I don’t feel like myself, but if I had the real ruby, maybe, I could break free,” she said, pressing her hand against the fake ruby tying her to the doctor’s latest scheme. It seemed to pulse in response.</p><p>Shadow could sense power emanating from it, but not nearly on the level of one Chaos Emerald, let alone seven. He relaxed and placed a hand on her shoulder. Amy flinched and looked apprehensive as he drew closer. Hmm, she’d never feared him before. He blamed the ruby and tried not to take it personally. Whatever experience she’d had with the doctor couldn’t have been pleasant.</p><p>“Have you considered simply removing it?” he asked.</p><p>“Yeah but it didn’t work,”Amy said, growing sullen before suddenly brightening.</p><p>“Could you give it a try?” she asked, practically jumping up and down in excitement.</p><p>Her blind faith in him completely shattered his defenses. What harm could it do, really?</p><p>“Alright,” Shadow said without giving it a second thought. He touched the ruby and found himself once again on the ARK viewing the Earth from afar. He pressed his hand longingly against the glass.</p><p>“Someday, we’ll see it together, Shadow. I promise,” Maria said, placing a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>No, no, we wouldn’t, but he could not say as much as if he was of two minds about it. The younger version of himself that wasn’t quite as jaded as he was now nodded in reply. Seeing his own reflection full of awe and wonder was jarring and he struggled to regain some kind of control of what was happening.</p><p>“What are you looking forward to the most?” she asked.</p><p>That refocused his attention and he answered easily. Even after all these years, the answer hadn’t changed.</p><p>“Showing you the world,” his voice broke, and he knew instantly he hadn’t done that the first time. She looked at him in concern as he pulled away from the glass.</p><p>Shadow stood trembling like a child as Amy Rose held him tightly against her. He’d let go of the ruby.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Shadow. Was it not a good memory?” she asked.</p><p>It took him a moment to register her words, but when he did, Shadow roughly pushed her away. She’d actively deceived him, and he’d ignored his every instinct because he still saw her as a lost little girl in need of help. Better to refuse her now and let her other friends handle this.</p><p>Shadow did not know Amy Rose as well as he thought.</p><p>“I cannot assist you, Rose. You’re on your own,” Shadow said, only glancing at her briefly in an effort to stop himself from having a change of heart.</p><p>Sure enough, she was half sobbing already like a wounded creature, and he had to constantly remind himself that it was likely all an act to make himself walk away.</p><p>“But I can give you everything you ever wanted,” she said with such naive certainty that he had to scoff. He doubted the ruby had the power to raise the dead.</p><p>“All your memories are locked away inside your mind, but I can pull them out. Please let me help you,” she begged.</p><p>Shadow had already had a taste of what that would be like and shook his head.</p><p>“I’ve put my past behind me. Anything I remember now will only remind me of the pain that comes later.” There would always be one memory that would forever be ingrained into his mind, and he did not fancy relieving it over and over. No matter how much he missed his old friend.</p><p>“If you didn’t want to remember, the ruby wouldn’t have shown you that memory. The Phantom Ruby reveals a person’s deepest desires. Let me grant yours,” Amy insisted without really understanding his point of view.</p><p>“It’s like trapping me inside my own body. I can’t change anything. Can you imagine knowing your friend is going to die and not being able to do anything about it?” he asked.</p><p>The look of surprise on her face told him that she understood his feelings now, but she still stubbornly ran towards him and strategically took his arm to keep him from leaving. He rolled his eyes. If he really wanted to leave, he could have teleported away at any time. He blinked. He could have used Chaos Control and left in an instant. Why hadn’t he? Shadow sighed. He knew perfectly well he wasn’t actually going to leave her without helping her in some way.</p><p>Shadow was never the heartless weapon his creator had intended him to be. They were both glad for it in the end. Of that, he was sure.</p><p>“It won’t be like that this time. I promise. We can even skip the bad stuff if you want,” Amy said, swinging his arm around like a toy.</p><p>Not a child, not an actual child, he reminded himself. She was more dangerous than she let on.</p><p>“Didn’t you want me to help you?” he said tiredly, really wishing she’d drop this line of thought already. He didn’t want anything to do with his past anymore.</p><p>Shadow had learned more than enough.</p><p>“Let me show you,” she said, placing her hands on his forehead as the ruby pulsed. The energy readings were stronger now as if affected by her desire. Shadow tried to back away, but reality melted away once more, and he was back in the ARK.</p><p>“Oh hello, you’re Shadow right?” Maria asked, crouching down to meet his eye level. He found it awfully condescending. Shadow was more than capable of reading her facial cues when she was standing at full height.</p><p>“Yes, and you are?” he asked impatiently. The professor had asked him to wait here for some reason, and he was ninety nine percent sure it had nothing to do with this height challenged human.</p><p>“Maria, my father, Professor Robotnik wanted us to meet,” she offered.</p><p>Shadow relaxed, realizing he wasn’t expected to fight today. He was still puzzled by the professor’s request but decided to have her answer his most burning question first.</p><p>“Why are you so short? Is there something wrong with you?”</p><p>Maria flinched but quickly hid her discomfort, offering him another smile.</p><p>“I’m still a child. I likely will never be as tall as my father but I still have time to grow,” she said cheerfully.</p><p>That would have ended the awkward conversation but Shadow had noticed her flinch. He was trained to pick up on his opponent’s weaknesses after all.</p><p>“Is there something wrong with you?” he repeated. She hadn’t answered the question.</p><p>Maria laughed in an effort to hide her discomfort.</p><p>“I do have an illness that makes me unable to leave the ARK. It will eventually kill me if a cure is not found. Are you always so focused on perfection, Shadow?” she asked.</p><p>It was Shadow’s turn to flinch, not expecting the question to be thrown back at him.</p><p>“I’m supposed to be perfection,” he admitted, looking down. Sometimes he doubted it, especially when he made a mistake.</p><p>“But you’re so short,” she teased.</p><p>Shadow shot Maria a dirty look. If this human wasn’t already doomed to die by her own hand, he would have put more effort into intimidating her. As things stood, she was someone to be pitied.</p><p>“I’m the right size for my species,” Shadow said, hesitating a moment. “I think.”</p><p>Come to think of it, Shadow had never seen another hedgehog on board the ARK. He’d ask the professor about it next time he saw him. He didn’t trust this small human to answer him truthfully.</p><p>“If you say so,” Maria said, not quite hiding her amusement. He scoffed again, and she laughed.</p><p>Shadow seriously considered walking away but she spoke up before he had the chance to make up his mind.</p><p>“Well, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform, we can be friends if you want,” she offered.</p><p>Shadow didn’t recognize that word.</p><p>“What’s a friend?” he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion. She made an unpleasant squealing noise. He flattened his ears.</p><p>“You’re so cute,” she said, giving him an unexpected hug. He considered pushing her away but remembered her illness and let her do what she pleased.</p><p>“I can’t believe they wouldn’t teach you something so important,” she said, a sad look in her eyes as she released him. He didn’t like being the reason she was sad.</p><p>“A friend is someone who is always there for you. No matter what,” she explained.</p><p>He nodded, fitting the definition with a word he already knew. She wanted his loyalty. He could give her that. Maybe, then, she would be happy.</p><p>“I suppose I can be your friend. I promise to be the best friend you’ve ever had. No other shall defeat me,” he vowed. She had the gall to laugh at him.</p><p>“You don’t have to try so hard when you’re with me. We can just have fun when we’re together. I think we both need that in our lives,” she said softly.</p><p>“I’m not trying to impress you. I’m simply not familiar with how you humans work yet, or I might have been more careful with my words. I did not mean to remind you of your inevitable death earlier,” Shadow said, growing defensive as he broke eye contact with her.</p><p>Everything Shadow did was supposed to be effortless. Yet, he struggled to be the merciless fighter they wanted him to be. He kept hesitating when he hurt someone. How could he be the ultimate weapon if he always held back?</p><p>Maria rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. “Apology accepted. Let me show you my favorite spot on the ARK.”</p><p>The memory ended, and he was thrust back into reality. Amy released him from her enchantment and waited for him to react. Still in a daze, he took a moment to remember where he was.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” Amy asked, placing a hand on his forehead.</p><p>“Fine,” Shadow said, pushing her hand away. He wasn’t exactly happy with her right now.</p><p>Amy had to have known exactly how he’d feel after experiencing that memory again.</p><p>“Now that you know how it works. Do you want to remember?” she asked.</p><p>“I admit that wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m here to help you, not the other way around. Let’s not waste anymore time on me,” Shadow said.</p><p>“It’s not a waste. You’ll be with me regardless of what you choose. Don’t let that affect your decision.”</p><p>Shadow again grew suspicious but dismissed his suspicions almost immediately. He didn’t care if she had an ulterior motive or not. She had done nothing to harm him and seemed to truly want to help him, even if she was being overzealous about it. Shadow’s known her long enough to forgive such indiscretions.</p><p>“My memories have always been manipulated and controlled by others. I am not certain you would be any different,” Shadow elaborated, still reluctant. He’d learned a lot about himself in those first few moments with Maria, but could he really be sure any of it was real?</p><p>“Oh, do you really think so little of me?” Amy asked, struck by the accusation. She actually backed away from him, seconds away from bursting into tears again. Shadow instinctively reached out for her. He didn’t want to make her sad either.</p><p>“No, I do trust you, but the Phantom Ruby’s true power alludes me. How can you be sure that what it shows you is what you truly desire? The gem could be manipulating you.”</p><p>Amy wasn’t quite herself. She’s said as much. Looking down at the gem in question, she frowned.</p><p>“You can read Chaos energy, right? This gem can’t be that different. Do you sense anything coming from the Phantom Ruby?” She asked, grabbing his hand as she tried to force him to touch the ruby again. Shadow snatched his hand back with some difficulty. Amy has always had a strong grip.</p><p>“I did briefly, but all I could tell was that the energy it gives off does not seem to be as strong as the Chaos Emeralds.” He did not tell her that the gem had the ability to get stronger.</p><p>On the off chance that this did lead to a fight, Shadow did not want to reveal anything she could use against him. He’d only seen a fraction of the ruby’s power, but already, he feared what it could do in the wrong hands, especially in the hands of one angry, Amy Rose.</p><p>“Then, you have no reason to doubt me. Come on, let me help you, please,” she pleaded, grabbing his hands and pouting again. He sighed, puzzled by the fact she was putting this much effort into restoring his memories.</p><p>As tempting as it would be to relive his days in the ARK and see Maria again, he remembered enough to realize not all of it would be pleasant, especially the ending. There was also the very real possibility that the memories he did have were not his own, not that he would ever tell Sonic the truth.</p><p>“Rose, there are some things I’d rather not relive,” he said, begging her to understand.</p><p>Did he really have to say it? Shadow was perfectly happy with the memories he did have of Maria. He didn’t want to risk finding out something that would spoil those vague recollections for him.</p><p>“Why do you care so much anyway?” he asked. Maybe, the Phantom Ruby was influencing her after all.</p><p>“Because you’re my friend, and I want you to be happy, duh,” Amy said, rolling her eyes as if he’d said something particularly silly.</p><p>Shadow chuckled, allowing the built up tension in his muscles to release. Maybe, Amy Rose wasn’t the threat that he’d imagined her to be. The Phantom Ruby’s power didn’t matter if the person who wielded it refused to use it as a weapon.</p><p>“You don’t have to remember anything bad. I can control what you see,” she tried again.</p><p>Shadow had suspected as much. He scoffed again.</p><p>“How do you expect me to help you if I’m incapacitated for who knows how long?” he asked.</p><p>Amy bit her lip, clearly trying to come up with an answer on the spot. Shadow narrowed his eyes. Amy was clearly hiding something from him, and he didn’t appreciate it.</p><p>“Don’t you miss her at all?” she asked.</p><p>Shadow stiffened and resisted the urge to shout at her, reminding himself again of how young she was. Maria was the only reason Earth still existed. Well, he supposed the pink hedgehog before him also deserved some of the credit. She’d had the audacity to ask him of all people for help, and her little speech had triggered something in him, a flicker of a memory. Maybe, he should trust her.</p><p>“If you’re honest with me, I’ll do as you wish and allow you to restore my memories to the best of your ability, but for that to happen, you must trust me as much as I trust you, Rose. Please tell me the truth.”</p><p>Strategically, she widened the distance between them. He made no move to stop her. If he really needed to catch her, he’d easily be able to track her down with little effort.</p><p>“If you’re under the Phantom Ruby’s influence, I can use your power,” she admitted finally. Ears flat and eyes shut, fully expecting some kind of punishment for her impudence.</p><p>“So, you were being quite literal when you said you needed to borrow my power.”</p><p>Amy nodded, still refusing to look him in the eye. He didn’t feel the usual fire in his belly that grew hotter and hotter until it encompassed his whole body, ready to burst. No Chaos Blast incoming. Instead, he felt empty. She hadn’t had faith in him after all. Shadow berated himself for thinking she had for even a second. Her unwavering faith and loyalty belonged to Sonic alone, not him.</p><p>“You were using me, and I nearly fell for it,” Shadow said, narrowing his eyes as he flashed his teeth and reflexively folded his ears back. He was more than ready to leave.</p><p>If it took another eternity for him to meet Amy Rose again, it would be too soon.</p><p>“No, of course not, you dummy,” Amy said, puffing up her cheeks childishly as she shoved his shoulder. He hadn’t braced himself, and he tumbled back slightly.</p><p>Shadow scoffed for what must be the hundredth time today, refusing to be impressed with her raw strength. There was nothing she could say that would change his mind. The ruby must be messing with her head if she thought a plan as ill considered as this would work.</p><p>“Why else would you possibly refuse my help?” Shadow asked.</p><p>“Well, the thing is . . . the cards said,” Amy said, stumbling for words.</p><p>Shadow rolled his eyes and turned his back on her.</p><p>“I’m leaving,” Shadow said, already half way through the clearing when Amy blurted out everything.</p><p>“Because this way you don’t get hurt, you idiot.” She finished with a huff, entirely red in the face.</p><p>Shadow came to a sudden abrupt halt, and he was silently thankful for his amazing reflexes for keeping him from tumbling to the ground. He was almost positive his heart had stopped for a fraction of a second</p><p>Okay, so, there was one way thing she could say to earn his complete and utter forgiveness. Shadow turned around, gave her one of his rare genuine smiles.</p><p>“Rose, I’m the ultimate life form. I’m not going to get hurt.” he reasoned.</p><p>“You nearly died once already,” she said, eyes watering.</p><p>Funny how he’d been thinking of that moments ago.</p><p>“There isn’t anything the doctor can build that can possibly take me out. If you’re really set on infiltrating Eggman’s base for the original ruby, I’m going with you,” Shadow said, a stern expression on his face as he crossed his arms and dared her to argue the point.</p><p>“So, you’re not going to keep your promise.” Amy said, hands on her hips.</p><p>Shadow was confused for a moment before the last few minutes came back to him. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. That really wasn’t fair. He hadn’t quite realized the level of her deception yet when he made that promise. Even so, he refused to break a promise, not after Maria.</p><p>“I don’t break my promises, Rose. You have yourself a deal,” Shadow offered her his hand, and she shook it eagerly. Her eyes flashed red a moment, but he chose to chalk it up to his paranoia for now.</p><p>Oh, how he wished literally anyone else had gotten their hands on the Phantom Ruby. They couldn’t possibly be more annoying to him than this girl.</p><p>Shadow followed her, unsurprised when the Eggman base opened for her. Inside, the base was bare outside of one incubation chamber, tailor made for him. He flinched, wondering if Eggman was in on this scheme. Seeming to read his mind, she put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Don’t worry. I made this,” she said proudly.</p><p>He raised an eyebrow. She definitely wasn’t the tech savvy one in Sonic’s group, yet she didn’t appear to be lying either if her heart rate was anything to go by.</p><p>“How?”</p><p>Amy shied away from him again, and he glanced down at the Phantom Ruby.</p><p>“What exactly do you know of your own power?” he asked instead when she refused to answer.</p><p>“I can make anything I can imagine, and it’s as real as you or me,” she told him.</p><p>Shadow nodded, satisfied the doctor had nothing to do with it. He was glad for the clarification. There was no trust left between them, no matter his relation to the professor and Maria.</p><p>This girl he trusted whole heartedly. He retrieved the red Chaos Emerald from its hiding place and tossed the gem to her. It warmed his heart when she seemed genuinely surprised that he’d offer her such a thing.</p><p>“For extra protection, don’t worry. It’s not even my favorite,” he joked.</p><p>Amy laughed, and his brain nearly short circuited with all the warm and positive feelings flooding into his system. He reminded himself that she was in love with Sonic and his stupid puns. It was far too easy to make her laugh for him to be so pleased with himself.</p><p>“’Kay, step into this chamber and have yourself a nice nap. It’s connected to the Phantom Ruby so I’ll be able to keep my end of the bargain, even when I’m not here,” she explained.</p><p>He nodded and climbed inside as gracefully as he could. He’d refused to take off the rocket boots, and she made a comment that Sonic was the same way with his running shoes and went on to mention something about a labyrinth. The Sonic comparison helped the fluttering feelings pass, and he returned to his "less than thrilled with this idea" self.</p><p>“Are you sure you’ll be alright, Rose?” he asked.</p><p>Amy smiled fondly at him as she closed the chamber door.</p><p>“Of course Shadow, I’ll have you with me,” she said, methodically pressing buttons and dials as she engaged the life support system.</p><p>Shadow furrowed his brows, again puzzled by that answer. Hadn’t she said something similar before? He’d dismissed it then, but now, he recognized a sedative invading his senses. Panicking, he attempted to break free even if he’d allowed himself into capsule moments before.</p><p>“What are you planning, Rose? Don’t lie to me,” Shadow shouted, pounding against the glass in an attempt to break it. She giggled as the force of his blows grew weaker and weaker.</p><p>“Easy, you’re out of the way, and I have access to everything you know now,” Amy said cheerfully.</p><p>“It’s a lot harder to spot a fake when they have so much data to work with. Thank you, Shadow,” she said, eyes flashing red a moment as she caressed the glass closest to his face.</p><p>A copy of himself appeared beside Amy, looking especially smug as he held Shadow’s freely given Chaos Emerald. He deeply regretted it now.</p><p>“Sonic won’t see it coming.”</p><hr/><p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter: Siren's song and Moonlight Battlefield</p><p>Everyone's aged up about 10 years: Sonic: 25, Amy: 22, Shadow: 28<em> (We don't count the time he was frozen fifty years because he definitely didn't experience that in real time.)</em></p><p> </p><p>Side Note on Shadow's age: He should actually be the same age as Sonic, but I accidentally aged him up further before finding that out. My thinking was that he works for the government, and the government wouldn't illegally put a minor to work right? I was a fool, and I've decided that they lied to him about being eighteen to avoid the hassle. Only Rouge knows. She went along with it but was quick to shut G.U.N. down if she felt they were pushing him too hard. Shadow fully believes he is older than most of his peers and acts accordingly. I also wrote the story with a bigger age gap in mind so this little tidbit doesn't affect much. I just wanted to clarify. I also liked the idea of their being a three year age gap between Sonic and Shadow to mirror the age gap between Sonic and Amy, but in future projects, I'll likely stick with Shadow being fifteen during the events of SA2.  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Abandoned Destiny</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong> <em>Abandoned Destiny</em> </strong>
</h3><p>
  <em>Joke Summary: In which, deep down, Sonic just wants to date Princess Peach and be occasionally rewarded with cake</em>
</p>
<hr/><p>A strange haunting sound filled Sonic’s ears that quickly reverberated to nothing. Frantically, he scanned the area for nearby enemies and immediately relaxed when he realized where he was. This was not the safest place to be, but at least here, he understood the threat and how to defeat it. Everything was bathed in a crimson light except for the nearly ultraviolet pathway before him and the thousand glittering lights of a defeated city far in the distance. A familiar track began to play, and he was very tempted to simply run along Stardust Speedway and never stop. Something held him back.</p><p>Why had he been brought here? Sonic had been seconds away from complete and utter annihilation at the hands of some of his most formidable adversaries. And yet, their leader, Illusion whisked him away from danger without thinking twice about it. Maybe, she had a soft spot for him? Sonic shook his head, dismissing the thought. Eggman had most likely ordered his new second in command to bring him back alive. He’d been lucky. Tails had been suffering a rare moment of panic, and by some astronomical coincidence all his old enemies had agreed to work together to defeat him. His mood soured, thinking of Chaos and Shadow. They were supposed to be his friends or at the very least, his allies. What possible reason could they have for working with Eggman again? More unresolved anger issues? An annoyingly persistent bout of amnesia that refused to go away? No. None of this was making sense. Nothing had since Illusion had made her debut.</p><p>Thunder cracked and lightning flashed as an ominous thunderstorm rolled in. He huffed, but his ears perked up as the music changed. He recognized it instantly and shifted into a battle stance. Sonic wouldn’t mind a boss battle right now. His knees wobbled and he nearly toppled over. Okay, so, he was more exhausted than he’d let on. Whatever, from what little he’d seen of her fighting technique, it was obvious she relied on teleportation to get an edge on her opponents. Once he got close enough, he could . . . Amy?</p><p>“What are you doing here?” It was a stupid question. She hadn’t even bothered to change out of her outfit. The cutesy red and white kitsune mask she’d been using hung loosely on the side of her head as if she’d gotten bored of her disguise early on but wasn’t yet willing to discard it completely.</p><p>Sonic really should have guessed when his new all powerful enemy showed up in a silly black and red dress and matching frilly skirt, but the idea was so impossible that he was still having trouble coming to terms with reality.</p><p>Amy giggled, and the phantom ruby pulsed pleasantly in response. He frowned, registering the potential weakness before scolding himself for jumping to conclusions too quickly. She was still his friend. He should give her the benefit of the doubt and let her explain herself before doing anything rash. No matter how bad the situation looked.</p><p>“Talking to you silly, and I go by Illusion now. What about you? Are you well enough to run?” Amy asked mischievously as if they were playing a fun game and she’d gone a bit too rough on him.</p><p>“Hold on, we’re not done answering my questions. Why are you working with Eggman? It better not be some hairbrained scheme to get me to love you because all you’re doing is putting our friends in danger,” Sonic snapped. He could have died, and Tails was still out there alone and vulnerable to attack. Did he even know he was still alive? The poor fox was going to have some serious PTSD if he didn’t fix this quick.</p><p>“Oh my darling Sonic. I didn’t think you’d get so upset. You play these kinds of games with Eggman all the time. I know it keeps you from getting bored, but I understand I took it too far. I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling slightly.</p><p>He blinked and gaped at her in shock. Did she think he’d be happy with this turn of events? Was it really just some misguided attempt to get his attention? He looked at the ruby sitting right where her heart should be and narrowed his eyes when it pulsed again. No, Eggman must have done something to her. Amy would never do something like this.</p><p>Sonic dashed forward and attempted to snatch the Phantom Ruby from her chest, only to be hit by a missile from behind just as he touched it. He collapsed at her feet, head swimming with visions of picnics with all their friends and chilli dogs galore. Everyone forever safe without a care in the world. Was this the power that turned you against me? What impossible dream did that stone promise you? He shut his eyes, already knowing the answer. At least, he had an idea of how to stop her now.</p><p>He opened them again when he heard the sound of a jet engine behind him. No, no, no, this isn’t a good time you bag of bolts. Instinctively, he sped to her defense, but Amy lowered the shield she’d used to protect herself from the blast and waited for Metal Sonic to take her with open arms. Utterly exhausted, he managed one spin dash that his robot double easily blocked before it obediently picked her up and carried her away.</p><p>Sonic growled in frustration before it dawned on him that Amy had planned for this to happen from the start. He huffed again, debating whether or not to chase her. As much as he hated to admit it, he was in no condition to take on Metal Sonic and that wasn’t even taking into account what Amy had in store for him when this was all over. Even so, he couldn’t not rescue her. It simply wasn’t in his nature. Besides, if he waited, the other three were likely to show up and make taking the Phantom Ruby from Amy all but impossible. This was his best shot.</p><p>So, Sonic did what Sonic did best and ran as if his friend’s life depended on it. In a way, it did.</p><p>After a rough start, he finally caught a glimpse of Amy and Metal Sonic in the distance. Annoyingly, she looked like she was having the time of her life, comfortably holding Metal as if he wasn’t a cold unfeeling machine. To add insult to injury, Metal Sonic seemed to be wearing a red bow on his head.</p><p>“You know he isn’t real right? How about I give you a ride instead? You’d be trading up,” Sonic offered.</p><p>Normally, he would have shuddered at the very idea of actively encouraging her obsession with him, but he was desperate enough to give her a chance to come quietly. Sure, she was now the nearly untouchable Illusion but deep down, she was still Amy. The girl he knew wouldn’t pass up a chance to be close to him for the world.</p><p>Amy looked absolutely delighted at the prospect and whispered something into Metal’s ear. Maybe, it was just Sonic’s ego, but he could have sworn the robot looked a little jealous and more than a little agitated. They slowed down, and Sonic sped up, confident his plan had worked like a charm. He held his hands out, waiting expectantly. Amy gave him another mischievous look.</p><p>“Oh, my dear Sonic, why would I do that when I already have a Sonic that does whatever I want?”</p><p>Shaken, Sonic was a split second too late to take advantage of the fact they were in striking distance, and his homing attack missed. Metal Sonic had strategically propelled himself forward as soon as Amy had delivered that little jab at his expense. Her mocking laughter spurred him on, and Sonic managed to close the distance again. Instead of being properly impressed or frightened by his progress, she let out an exaggerated yawn.</p><p>“I don’t remember it taking this long for you to rescue me last time we were here. Maybe, you’re losing your touch.” She stretched, casually looking down on him from above. That smug little-</p><p>“I can’t believe I’m saying this to you of all people, but would it kill you to be a little more supportive?” Sonic winced, hating how easily she was getting to him. He had given her an opening and he knew it.</p><p>“Give me your fancy gemstone of ultimate power. Tell me I’m the greatest thing since the invention of chilli dogs. You’re so clingy,” Amy said without a hint of irony.</p><p>Having heard enough, he stopped dead in his tracks, crossing his arms. Why was he even trying? He hadn’t been in control of the situation since she became Illusion. Amy had Metal Sonic stop a few feet away from him. She cocked her head to the side in mock confusion.</p><p>“What’s a matter Sonic? Don’t you want to rescue me?” she asked.</p><p>“I don’t want to play anymore,” he grumbled.</p><p>Sonic knew he was acting like a child, but right now, he couldn’t bring himself to care. She laughed again, and it made him feel small instead of larger than life like it normally did. What was wrong with him? Offering to hold her in his arms, chasing her as if nothing else mattered, actually caring what she thought of him, he must be losing it. Everything was the opposite of what it should be.</p><p>“Okay,” she said softly. His ears flattened, sensing she wasn’t done torturing him yet.</p><p>“But this means I win,”she said teasingly.</p><p>He glared at her, and only then, did it dawn on him just how close she’d let herself get. Making a split second decision, he reached for the Phantom Ruby first. Reality melted away instantly, and he lost himself for a moment in the dream.</p><p>Sonic was still having a picnic with his friends, but the focus of the dream had shifted. Amy smiled at him, eyes shining with pure admiration as she presented him with the most delicious looking cake he had ever seen.</p><p>“Would you like a piece of Cake, Sonic? A hero like you needs all the calories they can get.”</p><p>A hand gripped his wrist and separated him from the Phantom Ruby. He blinked, making a mental note that directly touching the ruby was a terrible idea. Amy’s eyes briefly shined red before returning to their usual green. She let go of his hand, looking at him fondly.</p><p>“Are you sure you want to give up on me? ” she said in a sing song voice.</p><p>Sonic flinched, feeling as if he truly was at her mercy. Amy had meant a lot to him, and the version of her that actually cared about him might be gone for good. The best thing to do now was think of the future. He had two options left. Stay here and sulk or escape and think of a better plan with Tails. And, there was only one way to do that.</p><p>“Can we finish the race?” he asked hopefully. She beamed, easily falling for the ruse.</p><p>Sonic had to convince her that he would come back on his own.</p><p>Amy signaled for Metal Sonic to continue. He used more power than necessary to place a respectable distance between them and Sonic. He rolled his eyes at the robot’s antics and took off. This time he couldn’t seem to get close enough to even try another attack. Unfortunately, Amy was plenty close enough to offer her opinion on his progress.</p><p>“Are you sure you’re the fastest thing alive?”</p><p>Sonic ignored her, hoping to hide his irritation and get this over with, but he nearly tripped over his own feet. She laughed again and delivered the punchline.</p><p>“Because I think you’ve had one too many chilli dogs.”</p><p>He resisted the urge to come to a screeching halt and tell her off. Instead, he bridged the gap between them and gave her a cheerful smile.</p><p>“Considering I got beaten to pulp earlier today, I think I’m doing pretty good.”</p><p>He tried another homing attack and was pleased when the attack landed and did some damage to Metal Sonic. Amy was momentarily surprised and her mask nearly fluttered away as Metal stubbornly propelled himself forward.</p><p>“Sorry Sonic, You’re still too slow,” Amy shouted as they fled, holding her mask in place as Sonic noticeably gained momentum, and Metal Sonic was forced to increase his speed again.</p><p>Sonic could tell that Metal was pushing himself to the limit and would overclock himself before long. He grinned and saluted Amy as he caught up to them again. She still didn’t look very impressed and shook her head before letting out an exaggerated sigh.</p><p>“Shadow would have teleported by now and ended this already,” she said, causing his already strained muscles to falter as he lost concentration for a minute. It was enough of a slip up for Metal to take them out of Sonic’s attack range. Sonic growled in frustration as he struggled to catch up again.</p><p>“Then, maybe, you should play this game with Shadow instead,” he snapped back.</p><p>“He says it’s too easy,” she mentioned off handedly as if they played this game all the time.</p><p>Sonic narrowed his eyes, barely registering how much faster he was going.</p><p>What was Shadow’s deal now anyway? Amy recreating the moment they first met with Shadow absolutely rubbed him the wrong way, and he refused to ask himself why.</p><p>“Remind me to kick Shadow in the back of the head when I see him again,” Sonic said as he hit Metal square in the back. The robot slowed considerably and wisps of smoke materialized from his chest plate.</p><p>Sonic was about to finish him off when the stage flashed red and the whole world seemed to glitch. The same haunting sound that brought him here played, and he found himself annoyingly far from his target.</p><p>“My poor Sonic, it’s simply no use. Are you sure you don’t want me to let you win?” Amy asked, ending her offer with a giggle.</p><p>Sonic was about to accuse her of cheating when he realized that Metal Sonic was still in bad shape, and she’d only teleported him a respectable distance away to give her robot a fighting chance. Amy didn’t want the game to end yet.</p><p>“No thanks, I don’t need your help. Hope you don’t mind me turning your boyfriend into scrap metal,” Sonic said, making a mad dash towards them.</p><p>Metal Sonic was in no shape to use his jet propulsion and was in serious danger of overheating, reason enough in Sonic’s opinion to end his misery. He punched Metal Sonic in the face making him lose his grip on Amy. Out of habit, he tried to catch her, but she teleported herself out of the way before he had the opportunity. With one last spin dash, Sonic defeated his copy but was surprised when instead of obliterating on impact, Metal Sonic simply glitched out of existence.</p><p>Amy began to slow clap as she walked up to him.</p><p>“My hero, I never doubted you for a second,” she said, giving him a hug.</p><p>Sonic rolled his eyes at her insincerity. The victory was empty and he wanted nothing more than to never set foot in Stardust Speedway again.</p><p>“Amy, can you let me go for a while. I need to check on Tails,” he asked, hoping she was in a good enough mood to let him go without a fight.</p><p>With how things were going for him lately, he was no longer sure he’d win in a one on one match up. Sonic needed more information on the Phantom Ruby and for that he needed Tails. Besides, his little buddy needed to know his big bro was still alive and kickin.</p><p>“Oh Tails is fine more or less. I sent a friend to look after him,” Amy said dismissively.</p><p>Oof, that wasn’t reassuring in the slightest.</p><p>“Please tell me it wasn’t Shadow,” Sonic said with a groan.</p><p>Had Tails been captured? Who else could help him with something like this? Knuckles? Maybe Rouge? They both knew quite a lot about gems after all.</p><p>“Silly Sonic, you wouldn’t guess in a million years who I actually sent,” she said, giggling secretively.</p><p>“With my luck, you sent Dark Gaia or something. Will you let me go anyway? He probably thinks I’m dead,” Sonic said, slowly but surely losing patience. He didn’t want to be around this Amy for another second.</p><p>“Sure, I have your attention now. There’s no need to keep you here any longer. You’ll come back,” Amy said, full of unearned confidence. He resented the fact that she was absolutely right.</p><p>But, did she even realize what he might have to do if- No, Sonic would make sure it didn’t come to that.</p><p>Again, the world flashed red and the sound that would likely soon haunt his nightmares triggered. Bright blue skies greeted him, and the familiar rolling hills in the distance put him somewhat at ease.</p><p>“I’m sure you can find your way back from here,” Amy said, donning the mask once more. Playtime was over.</p><p>Arms crossed, he glanced back at her, slightly hesitant. Maybe, it wasn’t too late to try the soft approach.</p><p>“Amy, what did the Phantom Ruby show you?” Sonic asked. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it.</p><p>The confidence went away as she slipped the mask off once more. She looked shaken and her voice trembled when she finally answered.</p><p>“Nothing I can have for long,” she admitted.</p><p>“And if you could, would you stop?” he asked. The sacrifice would be worth it if he could get his friend back, even if it’s not something he wanted for himself, not really.</p><p>Sonic didn’t get the reaction he was expecting. She did not immediately throw herself at him with unbridled joy. If anything, she became more guarded and frowned.</p><p>“My dear Sonic, you know you’re no good at keeping promises,” Amy said, voice still a heartbreaking tremble.</p><p>Amy really did think he’d fail her. Sonic wasn’t sure how to process that, and reality shifted again before he had a chance to respond. The transport was a lot rockier this time, and he’d fallen onto his hands and knees. Sonic was shaking with emotions he refused to acknowledge. Once he saved the day, this pain in his chest wouldn’t matter. None of the terrible things that happened would matter.</p><p>Amy knelt down next to him in the abandoned square and placed a hand on his shoulder as if to let him down easy. Shadow was beside her now, and Sonic couldn’t place when exactly he’d shown up, only that his dead eyed stare was creeping him out.</p><p>“That’s what Shadow’s for,” she said, finally turning away from him and taking Shadow’s hand.</p><p>“Amy wait,” Sonic said, unsure what else he could possibly say to bring her to her senses.</p><p>“I’m done waiting,” Amy said as she allowed Shadow to teleport them away. It stung and felt more than a little unfair, but he wasn’t given time to dwell on it as Tails ran up to him along with a very familiar little blue hedgehog. He laughed, and he really did need that bit of laughter right now. He was going to have the feeling of dejavu all the time now, wasn’t he?</p><p>“Hey lil buddy, It’s been generations since I’ve seen you.”</p>
<hr/><p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter: I mostly listened to Open up your eyes and Stardust Speedway Remixes while I wrote this but these are my actual picks for the chapter.</p><p>Amy POV: The Villain I Appear to Be (Diamond Jack) &amp; What Sonic thinks he's in for/ Sonic jumping to the worst case scenario: I'm the Bad Guy (Wander over Yonder) covered by Annapatsu on Youtube </p><p>Notes: Yes, we kept that last line from Sonic Forces because it was perfect. </p><p> </p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Forgotten Wish</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong> <em>Forgotten Wish</em> </strong>
</h3><p>
  <em>Joke Summary: In which, you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the Sonic in a relationship</em>
</p><hr/><p>Now what? Amy thought with a sigh, looking at the schematics of Eggman’s base. Tails was usually the one that came up with the plans, assuming Sonic didn’t jump head first into trouble himself. She looked over at her new creation, chewing her lip thoughtfully. He hadn’t turned out quite like she expected, but he’d done what she asked of him without complaint and that was reason enough to reward him. </p><p>“You’ve done well, Shadow. You may do what you like, alone. Keep out of trouble, and don’t let Sonic or the others see you. I need time to think,” she said, overly careful with her words after that last incident. He was still very impressionable even if he technically had access to everything the real Shadow knew. </p><p>Thankfully, he seemed to have caught on that what he did was very much not allowed and hadn’t tried again. Amy still wasn’t sure what he’d seen to give him that impression in the first place. She refused to believe the real Shadow had anything to do with it, but none of the others had shown such inclinations. Maybe, she was the problem? Amy had specifically summoned him into being in that moment to get under Sonic’s skin, and she’d succeeded beautifully. She put her face in her hands and let out another frustrated sigh. </p><p>Even as a villain, she was letting her heart rule over her head. </p><p>“Is there something I can help you with? You seem to be sighing a lot,” Shadow asked, noticeably hesitant. </p><p>Amy frowned, feeling a pin prick of guilt. She hadn’t exactly handled the whole kiss thing in stride. With the rage of a scorned princess who hadn’t met the right prince, she’d screamed at the top of her lungs for him to back off and summoned her hammer to finish him. </p><p>Sonic would have tried to talk her down as he ran for his life. The real Shadow would have easily disarmed her. (She’d taught him the secret of her weapon some time ago.) This newly formed Shadow hadn’t even considered fighting back. He’d cowered at her feet and begged her forgiveness. </p><p>All her anger had left her in that moment. It would have been like kicking a puppy. </p><p>“No Shadow, unless you have any idea how to infiltrate an enemy base, I think we’re done here,” she said. She blinked as her brain caught up to her mouth, slapping her own face for underestimating the resource in front of her.</p><p>Shadow raised an eyebrow and looked at her as if he wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.</p><p>“That’s literally Shadow’s job at G.U.N. You really haven’t thought this through at all, have you?”</p><p>When he saw her angry glare, he quickly amended the statement. </p><p>“Not that you’ve had the time, It’s only been a week since you and the Phantom Ruby prototype fused.”</p><p>Her glare didn’t go away. If anything, it grew more intense as she stared Shadow down. </p><p>“How could you possibly know that? You were literally born yesterday.”</p><p>His eyes widened as he caught his mistake. “Miss Rose, it’s not what you think.”</p><p>“What are you keeping from me, Shadow?” Amy asked, not bothering to hide the hostility in her voice. Eggman had more or less left her alone after infusing her with the Phantom Ruby prototype, and she wasn’t entirely convinced the old man didn’t have something up his sleeve. </p><p>So, of course, her first instinct was to team up with the one hedgehog that didn’t completely hate his guts. What was she thinking creating a vulnerable copy that wasn’t wise to his tricks?  </p><p>Shadow stood his ground, but his ears were flat, and he seemed genuinely upset by the accusation.</p><p>“The ruby and I are connected. I thought that much was obvious.” </p><p> Seeing that look on a friend’s face made her think twice, she took a deep breath and let the paranoia slip away. </p><p>Amy controlled the Phantom Ruby and its creations, not the other way around. </p><p>“Sorry, I freaked out on you, but if there is more to the Phantom Ruby than you’re letting on, I’d like to know,” she added softly. </p><p>Shadow refused to say anything else, and there was a long stretch of silence as he looked off into the distance, actively brooding. Getting the hint, she pretended to study the complicated schematics in front of her and subtly tried to reboot the conversation.</p><p>“Shadow?” she called out tentatively to see if he would respond. She still felt strange calling him that. The tiny sectioned off corner of her mind that wasn’t completely okay with locking her friend away wished she could call him something else but if she planned to fool Sonic, she couldn’t have him fail to respond to his given name at a critical moment. </p><p>Shadow’s expression didn’t change, but his ears perked up, giving him away. She took it as a sign to continue. </p><p>“How would you get in? I can’t tell what half this stuff means,” Amy admitted, swallowing her pride a little bit. It worked wonders. </p><p>Shadow used Chaos Control, reappearing beside her in a flash. He glanced at the schematics and scoffed, shaking his head. </p><p>“I swear it’s like he makes these easy for Sonic to get through on purpose,” he muttered, seeming to forget for a moment that he wasn’t the real Shadow. </p><p>Amy decided it would be impolite to point it out. Like it or not, she’d chosen to rely on a copy and keep the real Shadow out of her mess, well mostly. At least, this copy wasn’t devoid of personality like some of her other copycats.            </p><p>“What do you mean?” she asked. </p><p>“Oh I don’t know; how about the fact that he’s installed literal bounce pads to make it easier to get to the more restricted areas or how you can conveniently make it to the other side of the base if you homing attack these robots in succession,” Shadow offered. </p><p>“Huh, I don’t think any of us ever gave it much thought, but you’re right.”</p><p>In her youth, she’d spent a lot of time blaming Eggman for taking all of Sonic’s time away. When she wasn’t by Sonic’s side, she’d spent even more time worrying that one of these days the doctor would get him, and he wouldn’t get to come back at all. The whole thing seemed silly now. </p><p>Doctor Eggman wasn’t interested in dealing any kind of death blow to Sonic the hedgehog. Deep down, Eggman didn’t want the game to end. She could understand that, having experienced a small taste of such a life herself. In fact, she’d enjoyed herself so much that she was in the middle of actively replacing him.  </p><p>The doctor didn’t deserve Sonic’s undivided attention. She did. </p><p>“And, then, I’ll take the real ruby, make a giant sun, and kill us all. Sound like a good plan to you?” </p><p>She blinked only catching that tail end of what he said. “Yeah, sure, I have no problem with it.”</p><p>Shadow glared at her, ears bent back slightly as he looked her over. </p><p>“You haven’t heard a word I said this entire time, have you?” Shadow asked, arms crossed in his usual better than thou manner. </p><p>Amy laughed guiltily. She had asked for his input. </p><p>“Nope but I promise I will this time. No one deserves to be ignored,” she said, all smiles and sunshine. Thankful, he was getting over his initial fear of her.</p><p>“Please continue, my dearest shadow,” she said, giving him her signature smile. </p><p>The one smile that could get Sonic to stop for half a second, on a good day. </p><p>Not only was she forgiven, Shadow stepped back as if he’d been struck, slightly panicked at how easily she pierced his emotional armor. Red as a tomato, he examined the lush jungle of Mystic Ruin before them that was both there and entirely a creation of her mind. </p><p>“As you wish, it’s not like I have anything better to do” he said, deflating completely. </p><p>Unable to help herself, Amy giggled. She hadn’t expected him to get so worked up. She’d meant the words quite literally. He was indeed her favorite copy and she was looking forward to making some minor adjustments to better fit her tastes when she had the chance. </p><p>Her Shadow blushed again, and she was already thinking up ways to get him to do that again.  </p><p>“The Phantom Ruby is still located in the doctor’s fortress, but he’s planning to move the ruby to the Death Egg soon. We don’t have much time.”</p><p>“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, overly cheerful as she leaned in close. </p><p>Sure, when she’d come up with this convoluted scheme, she’d wanted a competent, low maintenance Shadow that wouldn’t ask too many questions, but she had to admit that she was intrigued by the potential of easily flustered Shadow. He stiffened, seeming to lose his head for a moment, but ultimately pushed whatever he was feeling down as he continued.</p><p>“I can infiltrate the base easily and take the gem myself.”</p><p>Amy frowned and crossed her arms. Had he not gotten the hint that she’d like to be included in this plan? What fun was being a villain if she still never got to do anything worthwhile? </p><p>“You’d draw too much attention if you came with me,” he explained when he noticed the disappointed look on her face.</p><p>“But Shadow, I’m a literal one woman army, and this is a lot riskier than taking a couple of schematics from Eggman’s computer. You could get hurt and you’re not as easily replaced as you think,” she argued. </p><p>She couldn’t help but smirk when she noticed the slight blush on his muzzle, another small victory and a much needed ego boost after years of failure. A part of her wanted to feel guilty for enjoying this so much, but all this Shadow really wanted was to matter to her. If he wanted the attention so badly, why not have a little harmless fun? </p><p>“You really don’t have to worry about me. I’ve broken into Eggman’s facilities hundreds of times,” he reasoned, keeping a death grip on the schematics as he did his best to be the practical government operative his head kept telling him he was. Amy had other plans.  </p><p>The pink hedgehog in question let out a dramatic sigh, a move she wouldn’t have dared tried if she was dealing with the real Shadow, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that wasn’t who she was dealing with now. </p><p>Sure enough, this Shadow was quick to look up, his frown more pronounced than usual. He turned away just as quickly when she began to pout. </p><p>“If you really want to help me, you can trick Sonic and his friends into attacking the base. That should distract the doctor for a while.” </p><p>Oh, an actual good idea. Amy jumped up and down excitedly, stars in her eyes as she considered this new possibility. She hadn’t been sure how she was going to top their last meeting and part of her had been worried that he’d lose interest once the initial shock wore off, but this was perfect.</p><p>Sonic still thought she was in league with Eggman. The pressure wasn’t all on her. She just had to act all menacing, and Sonic would come in and destroy the base like he usually did. It was her turn to frown.</p><p>“Won’t he get in your way though? He might destroy the base faster than you can- ”</p><p>Shadow was quick to cut her off, “It won’t be a problem. Besides, once the ruby disappears, who do you think he’ll blame? ”</p><p>Amy recognized the expression on his face all too well. The two had a competitive streak that rivaled Doctor Eggman’s ego. So, why were his ears pressed flat against his skull like his entire world was in jeopardy if he didn’t do something about Sonic? Her eyes widened as the pieces slowly clicked into place. That-That was a lot of power to have over someone. </p><p>For the first time ever, she wanted to run away from love. Amy fought the instinct with all her might. If nothing else, she would handle this better than her old hero had.   </p><p>“We can’t pin this on Sonic.” No matter how much sense it made.    </p><p>Neither of them were thinking rationally, and it wasn’t her goal to hurt him, at least, not more than she already had.</p><p>“Why not?” </p><p>Of course, she couldn’t just say that. Amy had to come up with an excuse quick. The Phantom Ruby pulsed in protest, but she ignored the opposing rhythm for now.</p><p>“Eggman’s not a total idiot. If Sonic tells him he doesn’t have it and the ruby doesn’t show up, I’m the next most likely suspect.” </p><p>Shadow relaxed his stance now that the subject wasn’t strictly centered on Sonic. Tucking the schematics under his arm, he shot her a dry look and delivered a perfectly sarcastic remark. </p><p>“Gee, if only you had some sort of power that could fool the doctor into thinking Sonic had taken it, but I guess that would be too hard for you. You can only create anything your heart desires.”</p><p>Amy was relieved to no longer see her own love struck expression looking back at her. Better he keep his guard up than shower her with hopeless adoration, let him be anything other than her own desperation.  </p><p>“Okay, okay, I get your point. I’ll dream up something believable for the doctor to see once we’re ready to wrap things up,” she said, giving up easily. </p><p>She still wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but she didn’t have the willpower to put up a proper argument right this minute. Besides, Sonic was more than capable of taking care of himself.</p><p>And if he wasn’t, she’d abandon this plan in a heartbeat. </p><p>Shadow hmphed.  “I’m glad you see things my way.”</p><p>“I’ll have to work with the doctor longer than I like,” she complained.</p><p>If she had to suffer one more monologue, she would personally see to it that the old man ended up stuck in a room with Sonic and his corniest puns for all of eternity, courtesy of the Phantom Ruby. </p><p>“The doctor is a useful distraction that will keep Sonic and his superform far away from you while you master the real ruby. I guarantee that he’s already in the process of collecting the Chaos Emeralds.”</p><p>Unfortunately, Shadow was making sense. Amy was self aware enough to realize that she’d caught Sonic off guard the first time and that he’d been holding back during their second encounter in a vain attempt to win her back. She wasn’t ready to square off against a supercharged version of her old hero.  </p><p>“You’re not wrong,” she admitted, running her gloved fingers through her quills as she mulled over her options. There was one thing she was sure of. She wanted this Shadow to have a fighting chance if he did come across Sonic.  </p><p>She was still bitter that Eggman had glitched her previous Shadow out of existence. </p><p>“Here, take the Chaos Emerald. I should be fine without it, even if teleporting with the ruby is needlessly dramatic and impractical during an actual fight,” Amy said, playing off the gesture as no big deal. She didn’t get the reaction she expected. </p><p>Instead, he scoffed, raising an eyebrow. A shadow of a smile creeping up his face.</p><p>“You do realize you can literally fly, right? There is no need to mess with the space time continuum all the time,” he said, slightly teasing. </p><p>Her brain rejected the idea right away. Amy wasn’t fast enough to keep up with Sonic. Amy would never be the golden girl capable of using the Chaos Emeralds to save her friends. There was no way in chaos she could fly. Shadow didn’t look like he was kidding.</p><p>“I can’t. Can I?” she asked, blushing. Why did it feel like she was asking for his permission?</p><p>Grow up, Amy. You’re one gem away from being a goddess.  </p><p>Shadow’s smile faded, and he shook his head, no longer in a joking mood.   </p><p>“You’re hopeless. You know nothing of your own power. It’s a miracle you got this far.”</p><p>Mystic Ruins flickered around her as she lost her concentration. There was something about Shadow being openly disappointed in her that struck a raw nerve. She’d always appreciated the fact that he treated her respect, even when she annoyed him or . . . she left him in an incubation chamber to rot.</p><p>Amy was dreading that reunion more than anything. His copy wasn’t helping.</p><p>“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Shadow. Maybe, I should go after the Phantom Ruby myself and prove you wrong.” She huffed, rolling her eyes.</p><p>There was no reason to put up with this nonsense. This wasn’t even her first Shadow. </p><p>What did she care what he thought of her? She hugged herself in an effort to keep all her insecurities inside.   </p><p> Amy didn’t get far as he grabbed hold of her shoulder. She had half a mind to slap his hand away and teleport out of his reach via ruby, but the look on his face stopped her. That wasn’t a look you gave someone you were disappointed in. That was a look you gave someone who you were afraid to lose. </p><p>Her mind flashed to Sonic briefly, and she reluctantly turned around. He wanted to help but wasn’t expressing himself in the best way. She could more than understand that.  </p><p>“Let me show you how to use your powers to their fullest potential. You’re remarkably good at creating things, but you’ve yet to tap into the ruby’s full destructive might, and without your hammer-” she cut him off, a subtle fury etched into her features as she closed the distance between them.   </p><p>“What? You think I can’t handle myself.” </p><p>It was a touchy subject. For reasons beyond her, the Piko Piko hammer had refused her summon. She’d shied away from close range hand to hand combat ever since. An incredibly frustrating turn of events that Sonic would have definitely picked up on if hadn’t been distracted by her sudden turn to villany. She was a born brawler. </p><p>“I know you’re capable Miss Rose, but as impressive as your evasive maneuvers are, you can only run for so long. You need a new way to defend yourself, especially since I’ll be utilizing  the majority of the chaos energy from now on,” he insisted, leaning back as far as he could without actually moving away from her, ears flat and hands raised in total surrender.</p><p>Lucky for him, she was reminded of a certain overly anxious blue hedgehog and her anger cooled. It’s not like she had anything to hit him with anyway.  </p><p>“I think you’re forgetting that I can summon entire armies with just a thought.”</p><p>Amy could easily overwhelm any opponent with a near endless supply of minions. The only flaw in her strategy was her tendency to let Sonic get a little too close for comfort, but that was easily remedied. Next time they faced off, she’d keep her distance, simple as that.</p><p>“And if they fail you? I wouldn’t be so quick to put all your faith in champions that have been defeated in the past,” Shadow said, bringing back her own memories of the ARK and just how devastated everyone had been when he didn’t survive the final battle. </p><p>Eyes watering in remembrance, she shook her head, smiling at him fondly.</p><p>If anything, his sacrifice had only cemented her faith in him. </p><p>“You won’t fail me. We’re the ones that failed you,” she admitted. </p><p>By some miracle, Shadow hadn’t quite died. Or he was an android? An alien? The story kept changing. It didn’t matter. The point was her friend was back and more than a little confused. And what had she done at this thrilling/distressing news? Chased down Sonic again, only for him to run off, yet again when she tried to strong arm him into marrying her. Not that she was mad about that anymore, she’d been twelve at the time and had only an inkling of what she was really asking for. </p><p>Honestly, it was no wonder he used to run at the sight of her, but she was getting off track again. Amy wished she’d been a better friend, especially since his promise to her was the reason he ended up plummeting to earth and losing his precious memories of the girl who really saved the earth that day. Maria really had been too good for this world.</p><p>“I-I may not always be around to protect you. And the others, while formidable, lack my experience and durability,” Shadow said, avoiding eye contact with her and staring down at the ruins below in an attempt to keep his composure. It wasn’t quite working. His ears were bent down again, and his crossed arms no longer came across as an intimidating gesture but as an obvious sign of insecurity. </p><p>“True, it only took three hits to take Metal out, kind of a bummer. I spent a lot of time getting him just right,” Amy said, letting out a little sigh. </p><p>Her newest model was coming along nicely but was still confused by a few of his contradicting objectives, discouraging, especially when most of her creations were in essence glass cannons, powerful but easily taken out. She couldn’t afford to keep teaching each new Metal how he was expected to behave, not at the rate they would blip out of existence. Amy would either have to get creative or abandon the project altogether. Maybe, she could create a backup of his personality that she could install in later versions when Sonic and the rest of her friends inevitably destroyed the guy. Would that even work with her power set? </p><p>Hmm, she’d followed the doctor’s specifications and managed to create Shadow’s incubation chamber on her own. Making a backup disk couldn’t be that different. </p><p>Shadow cleared his throat to try and get her attention again when she stayed quiet too long. Oops. Accidentally ignored him again, she really was trying to do better than Sonic, honest. </p><p>“Yes, Shadow?” she asked, trying to multitask and create a few prototype backup disks while she finished her conversation with him. They looked right, but there was no way to test them without summoning Metal here. And with what she knew of this Shadow, she wasn’t sure how he’d take her sudden lack of attention.  </p><p>“Will you allow me to teach you?” he asked. </p><p>Amy considered the idea. Her previous Shadow had already taught her the power of chaos, but the Phantom Ruby was clearly much more powerful than a single Chaos Emerald, no matter what the original Shadow believed. Everything she could do with the ruby had come intuitively, yet there was more to the power than she’d originally thought. Why limit herself? </p><p>Sonic never did.  </p><p>“You may. Who knows, maybe, this will actually be fun,” she said, tossing the disk aside for now. </p><p>Amy was spending time with her new favorite. </p><p>“The Phantom Ruby’s power is fueled by a person’s willpower and emotion. When this power is harnessed correctly, you have access to nearly infinite power,” Shadow explained, putting into words what she’d been doing with no real thought. </p><p>Amy simply loved creating things. It helped the things she created usually loved her back. </p><p>“So if I wanna fly, I just have to constantly believe I can,” she said, putting a finger to her lips as she concentrated. She barely levitated an inch above the ground before dropping. </p><p>Amy huffed, way too difficult to be practical. Shadow laughed, and she shot him a dirty look. Technically, he needed seven gemstones to fly. He didn’t have to be so smug about this. </p><p>“No, that would be exhausting. You need to associate flying with a memory.”</p><p>He closed his eyes, a strangely serene expression on his face. </p><p>“Imagine you are in the ARK’s core where the Master Emerald resides. You’ve had a change of heart. You want to give humanity a chance, protect it as you promised someone dear to you, long ago.”</p><p>Amy tensed, aware of how this story ends. How on earth was that a happy memory for him? Even so, she desperately wanted to hear Shadow’s version of events. Sonic’s had been less than satisfying, even as he tried to put a positive spin on things. </p><p>“He died a hero, Amy. I’m sure this is what Maria would have wanted for him if . . .” He paused, shaking his head as if unwilling to finish the thought.  </p><p>“It would have broken her heart if yet another soul was manipulated by her grandfather’s design into being less than what he was. She would have wanted something better for him. I know I did. I wish-” Sonic’s voice broke, and she desperately wanted to comfort him, but her curiosity got the best of her. </p><p>“How do you know what Maria would have wanted? The way you talk, it almost sounds like you knew her.” </p><p>Sonic never answered the question, but he seemed sad for a moment before catching himself and changing the subject. She understood now why Sonic had never mentioned the ARK again. </p><p>Shadow wasn’t the only one that wanted to leave the past behind. </p><p>“Close your eyes and follow along,” Shadow instructed with a frown, sensing she had become distracted.</p><p>She grinned sheepishly. His eyes were still closed. How could he have possibly known? She did as he asked and imagined herself in his place. The memory was vivid although she’s sure the details were wrong. </p><p>“There is another that wishes to protect humanity by your side. The seven Chaos Emeralds surround us both, and you are suddenly overtaken by a pure warmth and desire to do good.”</p><p>Amy admired her golden fur, unsure how she looked otherwise. Absolutely giddy and literally on top of the world, she took in the view. It’s been too long since she’s been to space. Inside, she felt a light so bright that it set her soul a flame. In this form, she can do anything, be anyone. A hero. </p><p>Her eyes water at the thought. Deep down, wasn’t this what she wanted all along? To be a hero by Sonic’s side, her most sincere wish. So, why was she pushing him away? Burning all her bridges, literally, scheming to bind them together forever, even if it’s not in the way she wanted. Maybe, the real Shadow was right. The Phantom Ruby was messing with her head. </p><p>A familiar haunting sound disrupted her thoughts, and there’s a red flash. She’s startled to suddenly see her Shadow beside her, glowing silver. Red eyes watching her reverently. Suspicious, she checked for Chaos energy, but only sensed the one emerald on him. She can only assume that he’s channeling her own power. This should worry her more than it does, but in her current state, she only smiled, glad for company.     </p><p>“You speed towards the falling ARK, confident you can stop what is coming because you are not alone. You hear Maria’s voice one last time and are content to do what needs to be done.”</p><p>Amy’s never heard Maria’s voice, but Shadow filled in the blanks. It’s sweet with the promise of youth, there’s a purity to it that she desperately wanted to protect. With that in mind, she rushed toward the fiery mass with no fear. Her life didn’t matter anymore. She would sacrifice anything for that girl. These feelings were not her own. This should scare her, but it doesn’t. She wanted to understand why Shadow was the way he was.  </p><p>“On Sonic’s signal, you use Chaos Control and your home disappears in a flash, zapping what’s left of your energy. Everything you loved is gone, but your promise is fulfilled. You are happy. She’s the last person you think of before the world goes dark. ” </p><p>In sync with one another, they extended their hands, recreating the scene. They shouted Chaos Control at the same time, and the ARK vanished. It looked effortless, but Amy felt the light start to slip away from her. At peace now, Amy let it go, hearing Shadow’s final thoughts. She cried at how unsure he sounded. Then, there was only darkness, but it lasted but a moment as the memory ended. </p><p>When she snapped out of her dreamlike state, she found herself flying. Her fur was no longer golden but glowing an eerie red, and instead of a golden light, a dark purple mist emanated from her body. Amy giggled, holding up her mask thoughtfully. She’s never looked more like a witch. </p><p>“It worked, Shadow. Thank you,” she said brightly, lazily floating around him. </p><p>He nodded, clearly distracted by something. Staring at her intensely, he asked her an odd question.</p><p>“Did something happen to you when you went super in your mind??”</p><p>Amy hummed, closing her eyes a moment. When she was super, she’d nearly exploded from happiness, and she’d realized something, but the memory was fuzzy now. It had to do with Sonic and her friends, maybe? Oh well, if she couldn’t remember, it probably wasn’t that important. </p><p>“I learned to fly obviously,” she said with a grin, hoping to cheer him up.</p><p>The non answer only seemed to make him angry. He scowled, clenching his fists.</p><p>“I mean did your feelings change. Do you still desire my-the ruby’s power or did you have your own change of heart?” he asked, sounding extremely anxious. </p><p>Amy frowned, pushing her fingers together in an effort to calm her sudden nerves. There was a lot to unpack there, and she was beginning to suspect that this Shadow was more than he appeared to be. He could use her power for one.</p><p>Reluctantly, she let herself fall back down to earth. </p><p>“Going super like that, really meant a lot to me, I got a little emotional, but I know there’d be no way for me to feel like that again without the ruby,” she admitted, letting herself get teary eyed. It wasn’t exactly a lie. </p><p>Her carefully chosen words worked like a charm. Shadow let his guard down, losing all his hard edges as he approached her and put a comforting hand on her arm. She didn’t trust the gesture anymore, and her mind went to the real Shadow who’d she’d locked away in an incubation chamber, just like Eggman. Amy winced. She really was becoming the villain. </p><p>“The only limit the ruby puts on you is your own imagination. You will be able to do anything the Chaos Emeralds can do and more. So, don’t look so down,” he promised, giving her a dazzling smile. </p><p>Amy smiled back weakly, already making plans to escape. She just had to survive this conversation. Unfortunately, he picked up on her lack of enthusiasm right away. </p><p>“Is everything alright?” he asked, tightening his grip on her arm. </p><p>Her breath hitched, and Shadow loosened his grip on her arm in response. This gave her hope, and she decided that maybe, trying to solve this Sonic’s way wasn’t the best solution. She wouldn’t run, at least not yet. Amy would try to solve things her way first. </p><p>“Shadow, if I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?” </p><p>He stiffened but forced himself to relax when he noticed her own tense features. He brushed a few stray quills from her face, smirking as he gazed into her uncertain eyes. </p><p>“Of course, darling, I literally exist to serve you.” </p><p>Amy stepped back, feeling her heart palpitating to unhealthy levels. Ah, that was a little more forward than she’d come to expect from him. She forced herself to keep eye contact, for once unnerved by his lifeless stare. And did his eyes always glow red like that? </p><p>“Have you been manipulating my mind?”</p><p>The last thing she expected him to do was laugh.  </p><p>“How could I? I was literally born yesterday,” he said with a grin. </p><p>Amy’s eyes narrowed, unsure what to make of his sudden confidence. He was acting like an entirely different person. </p><p>“Then, why am I doing any of this? I don’t want to be the villain in my own story. I’m ditching this ruby and going home, ” Amy said with a huff, turning her back on him and storming off. </p><p>Her hand seized the ruby, ready to rip the gem from her body. Shadow instantly lost his devil may care attitude and appeared behind her, capturing her waist.</p><p>Amy was too lost in her own dream to really protest.    </p><p>“Now, now, dear, where is all this coming from? You were more than ready to face off against Sonic a few moments ago, overjoyed even.” </p><p>Amy nodded, swallowing thickly. That’s right. Sonic might be upset now, but if she played the villain long enough, he’d go back to cracking jokes and showing off just like he always did. And, she’d actually get to be a part of it.</p><p>Sonic wouldn’t give her the time of day otherwise. The Sonic in her dreams wasn’t possible. She had to accept that. And, wasn’t the hedgehog behind her a perfectly good substitute? </p><p>Amy’s eyes widened, and she quickly snapped them shut, to shoo the thought away. What? No way, focus Amy. Why had she wanted to leave so badly in the first place? What had upset her? </p><p>“I wanted- I wanted something. I don’t think this was it,” she said honestly, gripping the side of her head as she doubled over in pain. He didn’t allow her to fall, easily pulling her back towards him.</p><p>“Could it be?” he asked sweetly, practically cocooned around her. </p><p>Amy squirmed, suddenly aware of their close proximity. She absently pushed her hand against his face as she tried to put some distance between them. </p><p>“No, that’s okay. I just need to think. I’d gone Super, and the ruby’s power activated. Is that when you-” she paused again as she reached the fuzzy part of her memory.    </p><p>Shadow chuckled at her antics and released her, getting the hint. Relieved, Amy decided Sonic’s five foot rule was sensible and implemented it. He rolled his eyes but did nothing to challenge the newly established boundary.</p><p>“Shared one of my most cherished memories with you, yes,” he finished, and she actually blushed. </p><p>Her doubts really did sound silly when he said things like that.</p><p>“Yeah, you really are a softie, deep down,” Amy said, feeling playful again as she placed her hands behind her back and swayed her hips back and forth.</p><p>Shadow scoffed, but it was clearly obligatory as another smile escaped soon after.</p><p>“If only everything didn’t feel so wrong, like all this is way too good to be true, I could actually enjoy your company. I just know Eggman is going to ruin everything for me. He always does.” </p><p>Amy crossed her arms, pouting as if she didn’t have the power to crush him with a thought. </p><p>“For a supposed genius, he turned out to be an incredible bore. You’re far more imaginative and worthwhile than he ever could be. Forget about him, I already have,” he said with a dismissive wave. </p><p>Genuinely surprised by the kind words, she ducked her head down, hiding her warm cheeks. She really wasn’t used to hearing compliments. “I keep wanting to run, but I’m not sure why anymore. What was I afraid of? Being happy?”</p><p>And yet, her head kept pounding unpleasantly, a part of her mind rebelling against the very idea of being happy with the creature before her, lifeless red eyes still giving off a disconcerting glow. </p><p>“Never fear, you’re exactly where you need to be, dear,” he said, grinning wickedly as he bridged the gap between them and lifted her up. </p><p>Amy let out a weak hey and half heartedly attempted to free herself. He paid her no mind, pulling her closer so their noses practically touched. The ruby hummed in response, strangely warm against her skin.  </p><p>“In my arms,” he finished, far too smug when her whole face turned red.</p><p>“Why did you have to come out so mushy?” Amy complained, even as she stopped trying to get away. She was aware of the irony, and it was taking all her willpower not to look away.    </p><p>“I thought you liked this sort of thing,” Shadow said, tilting his head to the side cutely in confusion as he put her down.  </p><p>“Was I wrong?”</p><p> Amy huffed again, surprised by her own conflicted feelings. She settled on an answer quickly.</p><p>“No but I never gave you permission to flirt. I’m in a committed relationship.”</p><p>Shadow snickered, shaking his head.   </p><p>“Shame, you really do believe that. Frustrating too, since I could give you literally anything else you wanted,” he said, conjuring a rose and offering it to her to prove his point. </p><p>Snatching the rose, she turned away, holding her head high.</p><p>“I don’t want anyone else. I thought that would be obvious by now,” she said, twirling the rose between her fingers as she considered the being before her. How was he accessing her power?</p><p>Was it because he was connected to Shadow’s consciousness? </p><p>“Oh, I don’t know about that. You were pretty quick to flirt when you didn’t think anything would come of it,” he murmured coyly, leaning in close as she’d once done to him.</p><p>Amy paled, unable to deny it. She let out an exaggerated cough, recovering quickly. </p><p>“Exactly, harmless fun,” she said, still refusing to look at him, arms crossed. </p><p>He chuckled, daring to snake his arms around her waist once more. She stiffened.</p><p>“Why not have a bit more harmless fun then?”</p><p>Panic set in, and she practically threw him halfway across the factory. (Her illusion of Mystic Ruins had faded away some time ago.) Shocked by her own extreme reaction, she laughed it off, rubbing the back of her head in shame.</p><p>“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll pass. You okay?” she asked, grinning sheepishly.</p><p>Shadow was already getting up, glowing the same eerie red she had when accessing her own power, expression unreadable. Amy instinctively backed away as he staggered towards her. He laughed, somehow still charmed by her. </p><p>“You really are an enigma, darling. Why will you only accept love from someone unwilling to offer it?”  He purposely straightened himself out in an attempt to come across as less intimidating than he truly was. His body glitched sporadically, but the chaos energy did its job and patched him up before the heavy hit did any permanent damage. </p><p>Her heart pounded against her chest, threatening to escape her rib cage as the urge to run returned with a vengeance. Amy deeply regretted making him near invulnerable. </p><p>“What can I say? The heart wants what it wants, and my heart doesn’t want you. Stay away from me or I’ll literally knock you out of existence,” she ordered, desperately hoping she had more control over the situation than she thought.</p><p>To her relief, he hesitated and stopped a few feet from her, a serious expression on his face. </p><p>“Amy look at me. You trust, Shadow. Don’t you?” he asked, offering his hand.</p><p>The ruby pulsed painfully beneath her, and she finally understood. The gem had a will of its own, and she’d allowed it to pull the strings for far too long. </p><p>“But I’m not exactly speaking to Shadow right now, am I?” she said, summoning her hammer and subtly shifting into a fighting stance in warning. He chuckled, highly amused at the mere idea she could hurt him with something so childish.</p><p>“Yes and no. I am merely speaking through him as you favor him above the others, but I acted carelessly, forgive me. I didn’t mean to set you so on edge. Put the hammer away, dear,” he said, hands up in surrender. </p><p>Amy lowered the hammer but refused to leave herself unarmed. </p><p>“I’ll leave it out, thanks,” she said with a huff. He chuckled again, and she was tempted to summon Metal to her side. Her ears flattened as she wondered if he’d even fight for her. She tightened her grip on her hammer instead. She was on her own. </p><p>Shadow shook his head, smiling way too much. As if to prove a point, he easily used Shadow’s superior reflexes and knowledge of her weapon to disarm her.</p><p>Amy stepped back as her heartbeat skyrocketed. She was in way over her head, and her urge to call out for Sonic was very strong. She stopped herself. They were in the middle of one of Eggman’s automated factories, and he would not hear her. She’d only end up upsetting the entity possessing the ruby.  </p><p>“Dearest, do you really want to go back to feeling powerless?” he asked, pointing her weapon at her. She hated how he pressed the mallet against her face. </p><p>Amy made a snap decision. The time for talking was over.</p><p> “I wasn’t powerless before, and I’m not powerless now,” Amy shouted as she unexpectedly grabbed the head of the mallet and smashed it into the ruby, hard. </p><p>“Wait, don’t-”</p><p>It didn’t break. </p><p>Shaken, Amy let go of the mallet. She fell to her knees in shock, unsure what to do now. The entity possessing her Shadow laughed and crouched down next to her.  </p><p>“You still desire the ruby. Don’t you, precious?” Shadow asked with a smirk, eyes glowing with mirth.  </p><p>“Shut up,” Amy hissed, getting off the cold metal floor so she could face him properly. </p><p>What could she do? The odds were stacked against her. Amy couldn’t out run him in his current form. She could fly now but likely so could he. If she summoned anyone, they were likely to turn on her. She paused, seeing how close he’d let himself get to the person he loved. A weakness they shared. She grinned devilishly, calling her hammer. </p><p>Shadow’s eyes narrowed as he realized what she was considering. “I would advise against angering me, dear. I am on your side.”</p><p>Amy didn’t hesitate, swinging her hammer with all her might. With any luck, if she hit him enough times, the real Shadow would wake up, and her copy wouldn’t have access to his chaos energy anymore. Then, she could get rid of her corrupted creation and free herself from the ruby’s influence for good. That was the plan anyway. She wasn’t sure it would work.        </p><p>Shadow used Chaos Control before the attack could land, appearing a few feet from her. He held his hands up again in mock surrender, forcing himself to smile.</p><p>“Please be reasonable and cease this foolishness, the only thing I’m guilty of is giving you the power to do as you see fit. I am not controlling you.”</p><p>“So, deep down, I wanted to beat up Sonic and turn into Eggman? Yeah right,” she said, rushing towards him with single minded determination.</p><p>With a twist of her body, she built up momentum for a second hit and slammed her hammer down. He caught it, glitching briefly as she stubbornly pushed down.</p><p>“No, you wanted Sonic’s undivided attention. You have it, and if you don’t let me help you, you’re going to lose it,” he said, panting as her unnatural strength forced him to his knees. </p><p>Amy grit her teeth, perfectly aware of her past intentions. She recognized them for what they were, Phantom Ruby induced fever dreams.</p><p>“I don’t care. I never want to hurt Sonic again. If he hates me after this, I get it. I crossed a line, even if I didn’t mean to,” she said, tears streaming down her face at the thought.</p><p>Amy shook her head, reminding herself that he’s forgiven worse.</p><p>“Now, if you really love me, you’ll hold still,” Amy said, an evil gleam in her eye. She raised her hammer, preparing another strike. Shadow sighed and looked up at her, full of sorrow. </p><p>“Is there nothing I can do to convince you of my good intentions?”</p><p>“Nope,” Amy said, propelling her weapon forward in one smooth motion. He disappeared on her, and she hit the metal walkway, leaving  a huge dent. Panicking again, she frantically scanned her surroundings, but her target was nowhere in sight.  </p><p>“Then, allow me to cut away the fears that plague you.”</p><p>He reappeared behind her, glowing red as the dark mist enveloped them both. He pressed his gloved hands against her head. Phantom Ruby’s distinct melody reverberated between her eardrums. Her vision started to blur, and she felt her mind grow heavy. She swung angrily at her back, pleased when one of her attacks hit, and she heard a satisfying smack.</p><p>Unfortunately, the world flashed red, and her victory was forgotten. Amy blinked, confused to see Shadow on the ground, groaning in pain. She ran to him, worried the training session had been too much for him. He’d technically reexperienced his death for her sake. </p><p>Amy plopped down next to him and moved him so his head could rest on her lap. She furrowed her brow, puzzled by the huge bump on his head, similar to an injury one might obtain from her hammer.  </p><p>“Are you okay? Did I do something?” Amy asked fretfully. She didn’t remember being angry, but she did have a tendency to get carried away. </p><p>“I’m fine. The training just didn’t go as well as I expected,” he said, clutching his head as he struggled to get up and out of her grip, suddenly skittish again. She held on tighter.</p><p>Amy bit her lip, feeling more than a little guilty.</p><p>“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.” </p><p>He laughed bitterly but allowed himself to relax into her arms.   </p><p>“No, you did, but I don’t blame you. You’re a fighter. I see why he respects you,” Shadow said, closing his eyes. </p><p>Amy frowned, wondering what exactly happened. She felt a flash of pain when she tried to recall and decided to focus on the task at hand instead. Whatever happened was likely her fault anyway. She conjured an ice pack and pressed it to his head. The tender expression in his eyes that followed was almost too much to handle after what she’d done to him, and she looked away.</p><p>“Amy, if I ask you a question, will you tell me the truth?” he asked, sounding oddly playful. </p><p>Eager to put this behind them, she grabbed one of his hands and placed it in both of hers, eyes shining with remorse. </p><p>“Yes, anything, I’m an open book.”</p><p>Shadow laughed again, and it wasn’t quite so bitter. Progress. </p><p>“Do you regret fusing with the ruby prototype?”</p><p>Amy was struck by the question, unsure why she suddenly felt so uneasy. She ignored the strange sensation, taking a deep breath to clear her thoughts. It was a tough question, but she’d spent a lot of time thinking up an answer. </p><p>“No, I may not have asked for these powers, but I’m glad I have them. I’ve spent a lot of time imagining how things should be, and now, my dreams can finally come true,” she said, growing wistful. </p><p>Amy could go anywhere and any time she wished with little effort. Twinkle park and Press Garden were favorites of hers. As a bonus, she would often spy on little Sonic or little Amy, sometimes both when she was feeling nostalgic.</p><p>Admittedly, her little trips to the past sometimes backfired and left her feeling lonely. Shadow’s hand squeezed hers as if sensing where her thoughts were going. She shifted her attention back to him, a renewed sense of guilt gripping her. Amy had attacked the poor guy, the least she could do was pay attention. </p><p>“What did you feel when you first touched the ruby?” he asked, looking up at her with adoring eyes. She wasn’t sure why but chose not to question it as she’d certainly gone gaga over Sonic without much prompting herself in the past. Amy absently touched the stone in question, feeling it pulse pleasantly beneath her.  </p><p>“Like it was made for me.”</p><p>The ruby grew hot to the touch, glowing with newly realized power. </p><p>“Funny, I feel the same way about you.”</p><p>Blushing madly, she had no time to react beyond that as Shadow lost consciousness. Amy immediately pushed him off her, feeling the instinct to run rear its ugly head. Squashing the feeling down, she convinced herself that he hadn’t meant what he said. He was like an imprint of her soul pasted onto someone else. And, wasn’t it just like her to say something like that so casually?  </p><p>Even so, the words wouldn’t leave her head. Against her better judgement, she asked him about the incident in question the next day, mentally preparing herself to let him down easy. Amy didn’t hear what she expected. </p><p>“Hmm, what I said yesterday before I passed out? Sorry, I don’t remember much of anything after our training session. Was it important?”</p><p>Amy froze, wishing she hadn’t given into the impulse to ask. Was it important? Why was she even entertaining this fantasy? She already knew that the real Shadow didn’t see her that way. Losing her nerve, she looked away, clutching the ruby in search of comfort. The warm steady beat of the jewel eased her nerves and gave her the strength to finish the mortifying conversation. </p><p>“No, you weren’t yourself. Forget I said anything,” she said, taking off in a random direction. </p><p>Amy noticed his hand reach out to her, but she ignored the silent plea and kept running. When he inevitably caught up to her, she teleported away, and he was forced back. Without consciously realizing it, she found herself in the past again. </p><p>Little Amy had long ago lost track of Sonic, but bless her, she hadn’t given up. Instead, she’d changed tactics and was in the middle of making an obstacle course for herself to run through determined to be just as fast as him one day. Amy smirked, flexing her fingers. She’d been blessed with a different gift instead. </p><p>“I shouldn’t be here. Why do I keep coming back?” she asked herself aloud, sitting down on the soft grass of Green Hill Zone.   </p><p>“I’m missing something,” she decided, watching her little counterpart smack things down with a makeshift wooden mallet. It was oddly satisfying.</p><p>“What does she have that I don’t?” she wondered.  </p><p>An unexpected deep voice, rich in ire, interrupted her musing.</p><p>“The ability to communicate her feelings in a satisfying manner. ” Shadow plopped down next to her, arms crossed as he stared at her with a look that could burn an entire forest down. </p><p>“How?” she asked in sheer disbelief. An unfamiliar feeling of panic taking over. Had she accidentally blessed him with her uncanny ability to track people down?   </p><p>“Chaos Emerald.”  He held up the red jewel to illustrate his point before gesturing to himself.</p><p>“Master of time and space manipulation.” Her heart sank as she realized that there was literally no when or where that was out of his reach.  </p><p>“Why did you run?” he asked, cutting to the chase when she stayed silent for too long.</p><p>“I may have picked up some bad habits from a certain blue blur,” Amy said, off handedly, refusing to give herself away. She wasn’t about to leave herself vulnerable again, not so soon after the last fiasco. </p><p>Ear twitching, Shadow observed her, a neutral expression on his face. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he tried again. </p><p>“Are you going to keep running?”  Amy flinched, feeling exposed. She really needed to stop trying to solve her problems Sonic’s way. </p><p>“No, I panicked. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that,” she amended, grabbing a fistful of grass to distract herself. </p><p>Any lingering animosity melted away and he chuckled. “ What could I have possibly said to make you run for the hills?”</p><p>“That I was made for you. I feel silly even bringing it up since you don’t remember saying it,” she admitted finally. </p><p>“I bet you do,” he said, pausing for effect before giving her a knowing smirk. </p><p>“Since you know perfectly well that it’s the other way around, you need only say the word, and anything you wish will come true.”</p><p>Words failed her as she registered the double meaning. Uncomfortably warm, she puffed up her cheeks and decided to clear up the misunderstanding here and now.</p><p>“Oh please, I was going to let you down easy,” she said with a huff. </p><p>Her Shadow raised an eyebrow and gave her an unimpressed look.</p><p>“Says the girl that ran away when it became clear I didn’t remember declaring my undying love for you,” he said, perfectly deadpan. </p><p>Amy wasn’t liking his newfound confidence. She crossed her arms and scowled, trying to think up a believable excuse. She came up empty, and ultimately decided that she needed to do some damage control before his ego became too big to handle. </p><p>“ It didn’t mean anything. I was just embarrassed. I mean who even says stuff like that,” she complained, unaware of the trap she just walked into. </p><p>“Fated lovers are always drawn together, silly,” he shot back, emulating her over the top cheery attitude as best he could. The effect was somewhat ruined by his deep voice. </p><p>Her whole face was burning. How did he even find out about that? She was sure Shadow hadn’t been in ear shot when she was talking to Sonic during the tournament. </p><p>“Well, they are,” she said, turning her attention back to little Amy who was unwittingly doing more strength training than running as she was forced to constantly reset her training course every time she ran through it. </p><p>“Then, why am I the one sitting next to you? ”  </p><p>Amy rolled her eyes and tastefully, avoided telling him the obvious answer. </p><p>“Because I was in trouble and you happened to be the first person the ruby’s power was able to replicate. It was a total coincidence.”</p><p>“Sounds like fate to me,” he teased, embolden by her clear affection for him. </p><p>“But I understand I’m not who your heart desires, meet me for training when you find what you're looking for,” he said, giving her shoulder a light squeeze before standing up to leave.</p><p>Relieved that he was dropping the subject, she relaxed and let the tension that had been building in her muscles since he found her go, contemplating the question. </p><p>“What am I looking for?” </p><p>The question was rhetorical, but Shadow answered anyway.    </p><p>“Your most sincere wish.”</p><p>An unfamiliar ache in her chest threatened to swallow her whole. She felt fractured, like a large piece of herself was missing. She scrambled to say anything that could articulate just how lost she felt, but she wasn’t given the chance. He disappeared in a flash of karmic retribution. </p><p>Without thinking, she followed after him, missing the exact moment little Amy received a red and yellow hammer that was far too heavy to lift just yet. The warm golden light of the hero’s path was forgotten as she chased the illusion forged of red and purple mist.</p><hr/><p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter:</p><p>Illusion Shadow's Theme Song: Protector by City Wolf</p><p>Theme for Amy Rose &amp; the Phantom Ruby: Gravity by Sara Bareilles (annapantsu cover)</p><p>Amy POV: I'm the Villain in My Own Story (Rachel Bloom) Warning: Explicit, there is one curse word in there, and it's a very meta song.</p><p>Notes: So yeah, the Phantom Ruby is sentient. The reveal happened sooner than I planned, but I feel it works. Also, I hope it's clear from my writing who's who at this point but since I know it'll probably get confusing here a list of the Shadow's that exist.</p><p>Original Shadow: Trapped in incubation chamber</p><p>Mentor Shadow: Tragically eliminated by Doctor Eggman </p><p>Lovestruck Shadow: Current copy that's trying his best </p><p>Phantom Ruby Possessed Shadow's eyes glow red, and he always calls Amy a variation of dear. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Twisted Loyalty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <em> <strong>Twisted Loyalty</strong> </em>
</h3><p>
  <em> Joke Summary: In which, Metal Sonic does not take kindly to being demoted </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>If you had told Amy Rose at the tender age of eight that she would end up counseling her kidnapper and turning against her hero, the heartbroken little hedgehog would have likely stayed far away from Little Planet. In fact, the current Amy Rose was seriously contemplating making a quick trip to the past to ensure such an outcome if only to end her current frustration. Her programming session with Metal Sonic had metaphorically hit a brick wall. One of Metal Sonic’s core personality traits simply could not be undone, no matter how much better off he’d be without it.  </p><p>“Metal, you’re obsession with Sonic is unhealthy and self destructive,” she tried again, pressing the palm of her hands together and pointing his direction for emphasis. </p><p>The robot in question leaned back against her recently retrieved pink couch and crossed his arms. Then, in a deliberate act of defiance, he placed his metallic sneakers onto her coffee table one foot at a time, daring her to say anything. </p><p>Amy took a deep breath and reminded herself that she could literally conjure another coffee table from nothing. She needed to pick her battles today.  </p><p>“Can we at least agree on that?” she continued.</p><p>Metal Sonic tilted his head and laughed in his deep echoing voice.  “Ha, ha, ha, you’re one to talk. Asking me to give up my life’s purpose when you won’t give up yours is a little hypocritical don’t you think? ”</p><p>Amy instinctively conjured her hammer but nearly fell out of her chair, surprised by its sudden weight. With a sigh, she released it and the hammer returned to its dimensional pocket with a poof. Her heart and mind were still not one. Whatever had allowed her to summon it the other day against Shadow must have been a fluke.  </p><p>Metal Sonic laughed at her again. Boy did she regret letting Sonic destroy her last Metal. He’d been far more tolerable. Amy ran her hand across her face, mentally going to her happy place. Where had she gone wrong with this one? </p><p>“It’s not the same. Last time we faced off against Sonic, you overexerted yourself and that gave Sonic the opening he needed to destroy you. I’m trying to help you,” she insisted.</p><p>Forgetting himself a moment, he answered in a sharp metallic clang. She giggled which only seemed to agitate him further. He looked down at the out of place white fuzzy carpet and began tapping his claw like fingers against his arm as he spoke.</p><p>“Based on the data you gave me, I was sacrificed for your amusement. I was not allowed to fight back,” he said, digging his fingers into his arm and clenching his other fist.</p><p>Amy’s expression softened. No wonder he suddenly had an attitude problem. He thought she didn’t value him. She stood from her chair, smoothing out her ruffled skirt as she walked over to her loveseat and sat down next to him. Another high pitched robotic protest followed, but she ignored it. If she didn’t fix this now, Metal was likely to turn on her sooner or later. The silly robot certainly knew how to hold a grudge, and she didn’t want a repeat of the Neo Metal incident. </p><p>“I admit I did go a little mad with power there. I wanted to hurt Sonic, but I think I ended up hurting you more. I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. </p><p>Metal turned to look at her and roughly removed her hand from his person.</p><p>“Apology not accepted, you are a selfish little girl who has been given the power of a goddess. Why should I help you when you will likely sow the seeds of your own destruction?”</p><p>Amy scoffed, feeling her newly developed ego take a hit. This was the first time one of her creations had actively defied her, even her first Shadow hadn’t been nearly as difficult to work with. She was starting to understand why Eggman never utilized Metal to his full potential. </p><p>“To be fair, I didn’t think any of you were capable of hating me. I brought you back, didn’t I? Good as new,” she said, conjuring the red bow she’d given to her previous Metal which in turn was a recreation of the original bow she’d given the actual Metal. </p><p>It stung when he disintegrated it with his arm cannon. </p><p>“I don’t hate you, but I see no reason to assist you either,” he said, lowering his smoking arm and turning away.</p><p>Amy sighed, realizing she hadn’t said the right things. Shame, she used to have a knack for getting people on her side. At this rate, he would never join her for the battle against Sonic in a few days. She’d have to pick a new bodyguard. Chaos maybe? </p><p>Then again, Chaos presented its own set of challenges. She did not want to rekindle the creature’s legendary temper. At least, not yet. </p><p>“I understand. I’ll have one of the others join me. Take some time for yourself,” she said, preparing to leave. Shadow wanted to see her anyway. </p><p>Metal Sonic didn’t respond. Amy pouted, extremely put out by the results of her experiment. Perhaps, some things were best forgotten, after all. </p><p>“Let me know if you change your mind. You were my favorite. I’d hate to lose you,” she said, meaning to imply something entirely different than what Metal ended up hearing.</p><p>His eyes flashed red as he grabbed her arm and forced her back onto the loveseat. </p><p>“Was that a threat?”</p><p>Amy laughed, charmed he actually believed he could take her on when she could literally delete him from existence with a flick of her wrist. She easily pried his razor-sharp fingers from her arm and patted his head. He was being more careful with her than he was letting on. More frantic unintelligible metallic sounds came out of his speakers as he pointed an accusing finger in her direction.  </p><p>“Explain your intentions,” he demanded. </p><p>Frowning, Amy considered the request. Should she explain? Or would he turn on her sooner? She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but experience told her to prepare for the worst. She opened her mouth to speak when another one of her troubled creations interrupted her. </p><p>“Quit your whining, if she actually wanted you dead, you’d already be a pile of red cubes,” Shadow said, rolling his eyes. </p><p>He stood by the doorway of her new living quarters with his arms crossed in his signature pose, already in a sour mood. Metal Sonic rolled his own eyes and stood, mimicking the pose. </p><p>“Hello new favorite,” he said, full of contempt. </p><p>Her eyes widened as another layer of Metal’s resentment revealed itself. Oh, she had her work cut out for her. Amy was far too used to wearing her heart on her sleeve, and Metal had picked up on the changed dynamics faster than she’d anticipated.   </p><p>Shadow hmphed, before breaking character and smiling at her. </p><p>“You’re late. Do you still want to learn how to fight using the ruby’s power, or are you planning to neutralize Sonic with your bone crushing hugs instead?” he teased. </p><p>Amy blushed, silently wondering if that would work. She looked over at the picture of Sonic on her coffee table, giving her a thumbs up and frowned. </p><p>No Amy, the only reason he tolerated them before was because you were his friend.</p><p>And, you’re not anymore. Stick to the plan and keep your distance.  </p><p>“Of course, I do. My session with Metal just ran a little long. No big deal,” she said, smiling brightly in an effort to mask her disappointment. </p><p>If Shadow figured out what was going on, he was liable to make the situation worse.</p><p>“We are taking a break,” Metal interjected, making Amy wince involuntarily.</p><p>Here we go.</p><p>Shadow narrowed his eyes, losing his good humor. To his credit, he didn’t automatically pin Metal Sonic to the ground and demand the robot swear fealty to her. Instead, he turned to her, smirking knowingly. </p><p>“Why not just make another one that will actually do what you want? He’s only a machine. There’s no reason for you to be so merciful,” he said, shaking his head.</p><p>Metal emitted a series of unpleasant screeches and clanging sounds, yelling unintelligibly at Shadow. This was exactly the reaction the hedgehog wanted. He grinned wickedly.</p><p>“Then again, maybe, you’ve become too accustomed to Sonics’ disappointing you. If so, I’ll gladly pick up the slack. I am the coolest,” Shadow said, sweeping her off her feet with ease so he could carry her bridal style. </p><p>Amy slapped her forehead, less than impressed with his new cocky attitude. She may have overdone it when she gave him a confidence boost this morning, so much for her shy reserved Shadow.</p><p>Metal’s eyes glowed red for a moment as his anger reached irrational levels. He charged his arm cannons, preparing for a particularly nasy blast. </p><p>“Return the pink one or suffer the consequences.” </p><p>Amy nervously raised her index finger, about to remind Metal that she wanted to leave with him for her training session when Shadow decided to antagonize him further. </p><p>“Hah, I’d like to see you try and take me on, you glorified hunk of junk.” </p><p>He easily dodged the laser blast aimed at them, but the beam made a hole in the reinforced metal wall and ruined the curtains she had draped over her bed to make her living space less prison-like. With practiced flair, Shadow retaliated by throwing Chaos Spears in Metal’s direction that the robot was more than fast enough to avoid. Her loveseat wasn’t so lucky as it now had several tears and was slightly on fire.   </p><p> Oh dear, they were going to wreck the place if she didn’t do something.</p><p>“Boys!” she shouted, making them both freeze just as Shadow managed to get close enough to punch Metal in the face. His head flew off his shoulders from the force of the punch, rolling away to the otherside of the room. </p><p>With as much dignity as he could muster, Metal retrieved his head from the corner and reattached it to his body. Then, he turned to Shadow and made a swiping motion across his throat, promising to return the favor at the first opportunity. </p><p>Amy chose to ignore the threat. With the power she’d granted him, Shadow was virtually untouchable. She needed to address what was really bothering the robot before even trying to deescalate that situation. </p><p>“Metal, I’m not going to replace you. Yes, I can make more copies if I need to, but I wouldn’t do that while we’re not on good terms. You’re my friend,” Amy explained. </p><p>The robot looked down, absently grinding his metal shoe against the metallic floor of the base. She bit her lip. It reminded her too much of a certain blue hedgehog.</p><p>“You’re not disappointed in me?” </p><p>Raising an eyebrow, she glanced at the large hole right above her bed and back at Metal. </p><p>“Maybe a little, but I understand why you’re angry at me. I haven’t been considerate of your feelings. You can keep on hating Sonic if you want, but I still think my strategy would have worked,” Amy said, giving him a soft smile.   </p><p>Metal snapped his head up, intrigued that she’d actually had a strategy in mind. He’d assumed she was being a sentimental fool when she’d asked him to be nice to Sonic next time they battled. </p><p>“Explain,” he demanded. </p><p>For a moment, she seemed startled by the request, but her expression changed to one of affection. The kind that more and more seemed reserved for the faker in front of him.       </p><p>“If you insist on being a dead weight and staying out of the battle, I don’t see the point of you wasting anymore of her time. We have a heist to prepare for,” Shadow grumbled, just as impatient as his other loathsome copy.</p><p>No matter, he’d prove himself better in the end. He prepared another blast as Shadow dashed to the doorway, but Metal never got the chance to strike.</p><p>“Wait.” </p><p>The fleeing hedgehog stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. With calculated grace, Amy placed a hand on his shoulder, offering him a pretty smile. </p><p> “Could you please give us a moment?” </p><p>Shadow grimaced, but ultimately released her. It did not escape his notice that he still followed closely behind her. The pink one shot him an annoyed look but did nothing to dissuade him.  Curious, a queen unwilling to wield her power. </p><p>Could he even call her a queen when she refused to act like one? Was there really more to her now than the simpering little girl he’d met over a decade ago? Or was he fooling himself?</p><p>Her voice as sweet as the spring immediately caught his attention.  </p><p>“Metal, if you are nice to Sonic, it’ll throw him off. He’ll hesitate, and you’ll have a better chance of beating him because he won’t destroy you if there’s even the slightest chance you can become an ally.”</p><p>“A weakness,” Metal said in awe. </p><p>The girl wasn’t nearly as hopeless as he first believed. The strategy was sound and played to her strengths.  Perhaps, victory could still be achieved with the knowledge at her disposal. </p><p>“I will help you,” he decided finally. </p><p>She clapped her hands together. “Great, I’ll need back up if I’m going to keep Sonic occupied while Shadow does his thing.”</p><p>Metal voiced his disapproval in a metal tremor of displeasure. That wasn’t what he signed up for. Her smile was less pronounced, and her overall expression was uncertain, worried. Odd, this particular emotion was always directed at the blue one. </p><p>“Our goal is to retrieve the original Phantom Ruby, not destroy Sonic. Don’t do anything reckless okay? We only need to slow him down.”</p><p>Metal tilted his head in clear confusion. It went against everything he’d originally been programmed to do. </p><p>“And, if the opportunity presents itself?”</p><p>A look of dread crossed her face, it had been a long time since it was directed at him. He didn’t derive pleasure from it anymore. </p><p>“I don’t want Sonic dead. You’re not allowed to kill him,” she said firmly. Her hand was raised, ready to code the command into him. A series of red cubes appeared before her, his data. </p><p>Acting quickly, he kneeled and indulged the request for now if only so the opportunity to do so later wasn’t taken away from him. “Very well, I will do as you wish.”</p><p>Satisfied, his queen restored his data with a wave. Shadow snickered behind her. He ignored the slight in case she decided to forbid him from eliminating him as well. </p><p>Unlike his counterparts, Metal was patient. The opportunity to remove Shadow from the equation would present itself in due time. For now, he was still useful to his queen. </p><p>“See that you do or I won’t hesitate to put you out of commission,” Amy said coldly. </p><p>Metal nodded, aware of the risk he was taking. Even so, he wasn’t one to give up. Something deep inside told him that her attachment to Sonic would be less of a problem once she had the real ruby in her possession. He could wait. </p><p>“As for you,” Amy said, instantly warming as she turned her attention back to Shadow. </p><p>“I have the intel you asked for, just in case you run into him,” Amy said, retrieving a scroll from her quills and unrolling it to reveal a very long list. </p><p>The list caught Metal’s interest, and he began reviewing the sections of it closest to him. His eyes flashed, and he let out an excited metallic chirp as he realized what he was holding in his hands.</p><p>“I wrote down everything I could think of. Hopefully, something on there will help you get the upper hand, ” she said, offering the scroll to Shadow. He scanned the top of the list and scoffed. </p><p>“Likes Cake? Hates hugs? Possibly touch averse? Unorthodox but I’ll see what I can do,” Shadow said with a smirk.</p><p>The pink one blushed, hugging herself as she looked away.   </p><p>“It’s not in any particular order, okay. Some of it is more useful than others,” she said in a huff.</p><p>Metal paid them no mind. He analyzed as much of the list as he could for his own purposes since Shadow had once again earned her favor without having to do much of anything. She’d realize soon enough who the better asset was when he faced Sonic in battle again. </p><p>The fastest thing alive. The ultimate lifeform. No matter what they called themselves, Metal would outlast them all. He was the better Sonic, and he would not be upstaged by a literal shadow.</p>
<hr/><p>Song Pick/General Music Vibe for the chapter: Nothing much this week</p><p>Metal Sonic Theme: All Things Must Die from RWBY </p><p>Notes: Metal Sonic is about as murderous as you'd expect. Illusion Shadow was originally supposed to be a fun over the top version of Shadow meant to display Amy's ability to basically rewrite a copy's personality. (There are limits to this as we've already seen.) Plans have changed a little. We're still going to showcase some of Shadow's sillier attributes and flaws, but the in story reason for this had changed and will be brought up in a later chapter. At his core, Illusion Shadow is still a rather soft and genuine hedgehog despite a few superficial adjustments Amy's made. It's especially apparent when their alone. When others are around, his programming kicks in, and he's a lot more abrasive and egotistical. </p><p>I've reached the end of my completed chapters. Updates will be irregular after this as I'll be busy with college. 

Update: Illusion Shadow demanded character development and hijacked chapter six. So, Team Illusion's confrontation has been moved to chapter seven, but I suppose it depends on how cooperative Sonic and Tails are in that regard. See ya next update.   </p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Tragic Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong> <em>Tragic Fate</em> </strong>
</h3><p>
  <em>Joke Summary: In which Amy learns she has been promoted from just a child to imminent threat</em>
</p><hr/><p>Amy inspected the drab training area and sighed, reminded of her less than ideal circumstances. Ever since she’d been forced to ally with Eggman, she’d been deprived of color and no amount of multicolored lights haphazardly dotting the factory could make up for that. Amy was tired of machinery. Her brief escapes into nature could only do so much to cheer her up. </p><p>Shadow’s mutterings pulled her out of her own thoughts and lightened her mood. Was he really still going over that dumb list? Amy wouldn’t have even offered it to him if she really thought anything on it could actually defeat Sonic in any significant way. She just hoped it would help keep him safe in the long run.  </p><p>“Acts before he thinks, tends to underestimate his opponent once he has the upperhand, likes chilli dogs,” he paused again, amused to find yet another food item on the list.</p><p>“How many of these are food related?” he asked, gesturing to the list and narrowing his eyes accusingly. He was on to her.  </p><p>Traitorous giggles escaped her lips. She really hadn’t expected him to go through the whole thing before they started their training session. </p><p>“What? He likes food,” she insisted, defending her choice. </p><p>“Do you expect me to set up a box trap and place some cake under it and call it a day?”</p><p>Amy rolled her eyes and shot him a fond look. It was clear from his tone that he was teasing her. </p><p>“Pretty sure, Eggman tried that in the early years with chilli dogs. It didn’t work out. ”</p><p>Shadow hmphed, attempting to appear indignant before ultimately cracking a smile. This Shadow never could seem to stay gloomy for too long. She supposed that was a nice silver lining to the horrible curse she’d inflicted on him. No person should ever be as lovesick as she’d been and in some ways still was.      </p><p>“You’re lucky I knead you in my life, and I loaf you very much,” he said, unironically conjuring bread to illustrate his point. </p><p>Face flushed, she felt like a Sonic-shaped cherub had snuck up on her and struck her directly in the heart with its arrow. Was he trying to be more like Sonic, on purpose? </p><p>Oh Chaos, giving him an ego boost had been a mistake, Amy didn’t want him to act more like Sonic. She couldn’t handle that level of chaotic energy in her life. And yet, she couldn’t help but indulge him. </p><p>“I doughnut know what I’d do without you, but we really should get to that training session. I can’t afford to skip another one, unless you want to fight all my battles for me,” she said, materializing a doughnut out of thin air and batting her eyelashes as she attempted to mimic Rouge’s flirty technique.</p><p> There was that look again, a cursed reflection of her own hopeless devotion. </p><p>“I would if I could, but I’m afraid I don’t have the best track record,” he said quietly. The sincerity of it nearly broke her, and she instantly regretted even trying to flirt. It had backfired horribly.  </p><p>“Forget I said anything, I can-” He casually picked her up, bridal style as if they always did this.</p><p>“Take care of myself,” she finished, hating how she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck.</p><p>This couldn’t be her new normal. It simply wasn’t real, no matter how much the ruby wanted to convince her it was.  </p><p>The gem throbbed painfully against her chest, and she clutched it, in an effort to soothe the mysterious ache. Amy only vaguely registered Shadow snatching the doughnut from her hand with his teeth, or he might have earned another giggle. </p><p>When this failed to elicit a reaction, he ran around the large enclosure a few times, aware she liked the rush of adrenaline only a high speed run could bring her. Unfortunately, he only succeeded in kicking up dust and making her cough. He set her down, sensing he was getting nowhere. </p><p>Ear twitching, he observed her, annoyingly attuned to her every little emotion. Amy tried to hide her dissatisfaction with the old musty training facility as she struggled to pick off the dust clinging to her skirt, but her temper got the better of her, and she nearly ripped the frilly fabric to pieces. It’s not like she needed the extra layer of clothing. The dress looked just as good without the silly skirt, and the itchy thing was only adding to her misery. Shadow frowned, confiscating her hands before she had the chance to ruin yet another skirt. She ducked her head, ashamed that it only had taken him a day and a half to pick up on her more self destructive habits. He sighed, and she could already sense the day slipping away from them as he prioritized her happiness over getting any kind of training done.</p><p>“We don’t have to train here if you don’t want to. I didn’t think of how long it's been since an actual person has been here,” he offered, letting go of her hands. His eyes were already fixed on the exit and likely thinking of a plan B. </p><p>“No, this is fine,” Amy said, only grimacing slightly at the lack of windows. She didn’t want him to bend over backwards to please her. </p><p>She was a rose, and a rose could survive anything if given the proper care. He squeezed her shoulder, a mischievous glint in his eye. </p><p>“Are you sure? I wouldn’t mind another game of tag.” </p><p>Amy rolled her eyes. She was not going to let them goof off again.</p><p>“Nah, it was way too easy to catch you,” she said, trying to goad him into acting a bit more like she’d told him to. He wasn’t even a little angry. Instead, he smirked, playfully skating around her as he suggested another possibility that she really should have seen coming.</p><p>“Maybe, I wanted to be caught.”</p><p>Her face turned crimson, getting the tiniest bit flustered. The idea itself wasn’t new. She was sure that Sonic intentionally slowed himself down for her on occasion when he was in a particularly friendly mood, but it wasn’t something he’d ever admit to.   </p><p>“Oh you,” she said with a dismissive wave. </p><p>Still feeling a touch guilty for making him care so much, she looked around at the mostly empty training area and grinned, getting an idea. Maybe, she couldn’t in good conscience accept his affections, but she could at least make him happy while he was with her. Chaos knows, the real Shadow wouldn’t want anything to do with her when he finally finished reliving his days on the ARK. She might as well enjoy the fantasy a little longer. </p><p>Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment and opened them again to find herself in between the two golden arches of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Wishing to add her own flair, she’d replaced the stretch of road with multicolored tiles. The impromptu dance floor only covered a third of the bridge before abruptly ending. The rest of the would be road was an empty abyss that led to the ocean below. Naturally, the strange architecture wasn’t the first thing that caught his attention. Shadow stared up at the night sky, utterly captivated by the carefully crafted illusion.</p><p>“What do you think?” Amy asked, a sly grin on her face. She already knew he loved this spot. </p><p>The last Shadow had told her as much. </p><p>He chuckled, shooting her a playful look. </p><p>“You don’t have to try so hard. I already like you.”</p><p>Amy nodded, a little melancholy. This didn’t feel as good as she’d hoped. He was stuck feeling her feelings so of course any little thing she did would send him over the moon.  </p><p>Shadow watched her, one ear pointed her direction while the other stood alert, unsure of what to make of her sudden mood swing. He reached out for her hand,and she allowed him to take it.</p><p>“Why the big gap?” he asked, trying to distract her. </p><p>Remembering the point of all this, she brightened, pulling him closer to the edge. He instinctively tried to jerk back, but her grip was simply too strong.  </p><p>“Let me show you, ” she insisted, dragging him uncomfortably close to the edge.  </p><p>“Rose, what are you doing? Did you want to practice flying? Because you’re going about this all wrong,” he said, shifting his stance so it wasn’t as easy to toss him around like a rag doll.</p><p>Amy giggled again, absolutely ready to cause some mischief. He was going to love this. </p><p>“I’m not going to fly, silly. And, what happened to Miss Rose? It was cute,” she teased, letting go of his arm. </p><p>Shadow lurched back, not expecting her to release him so suddenly. He fell to the ground right as she jumped into the abyss. He scrambled onto his hands and knees and crawled over to the edge, worried when she didn’t surface right away. Planning for this exact scenario, Amy lazily floated up, body bobbing up and down as she allowed herself to give in to the weightless feeling of the antigravity field. </p><p>“Boop, gotcha,” she said, booping his nose. He scowled but was far too puzzled by the unfamiliar scenario to stay angry for long.</p><p>“How on earth? You’re definitely not flying,” he said, thousands of possibilities already going through his head as he sat up.   </p><p>Amy frowned, wondering if she’d miscalculated.  “Do you really not remember? You should have access to the memory.”</p><p>“Oh right,” he said, furrowing his brow as he concentrated. His eyes widened as he made the connection, turning to face her. </p><p>“I fell off the Golden Gate Bridge once  and ended up in some kind of antigravity field. No one believed me, not even Sonic.” he said, pouting slightly before giving her a fond smile. </p><p>“Then, you came in and defended me,” he said, chuckling again.</p><p>Amy felt her cheeks warm as the lines between reality and fantasy began to blur again.</p><p>Stop it, brain. Not actually Shadow, do not, I repeat. Do not let yourself feel something for a fake. He’s only an echo of your own unfulfilled desires. You know this.  </p><p>“Are you calling Shadow a liar, Sonic? Because his story sounds a lot more believable than you conveniently falling into a story book just before our date,” he said, managing to capture her indignation if not her high pitch. His voice was far too deep for that.</p><p>“I was happy you took my side, even if you were probably just mad at Sonic for ditching you,” he admitted, before suddenly breaking eye contact as if he’d revealed something truly scandalous. </p><p>It was telling, and Amy raised an eyebrow, puzzled that such a small thing held so much significance to him. Then again, trust was something Shadow deeply valued and didn’t give lightly himself. She felt butterflies invade her stomach as she thought up another possibility, one that she’d dismissed out of hand as impossible until this moment. Could she be more important to Shadow than he led on?</p><p>On impulse, Amy grabbed the edge of the dance floor and pulled herself up, blurting out the question without thinking. </p><p>“Hey, what does the real Shadow think of me?” </p><p>Her Shadow raised an eyebrow, clearly taking offense to that. Whoops, accidentally called him a faker. Mobius, Amy really wasn’t handling this any better than Sonic would.</p><p>“I mean what does the original Shadow think of me. Is he still mad?” she asked, shrinking against herself at the thought. She was fully expecting a roundhouse kick to the head when he woke up. </p><p>Returning his gaze to the stars, it was a long time before he spoke. Amy occupied herself by wringing her hands together, strangely anxious. She already knew the answer, didn’t she? </p><p>“It’s a bit complicated. Often, he thinks of you as a child. You two did meet when you were very young,” he answered.   </p><p>Amy sighed in relief.  Yes, of course, that made the most sense. No need to reexamine that particular relationship just because she was dealing with some Phantom Ruby shenanigans.     </p><p>“I thought so. Thanks for telling me,” she said, about to place a hand on his shoulder when he intercepted her, meaningfully entwining his fingers with hers.</p><p>“But, sometimes, he sees the person you’ve become and wishes you weren’t destined for another,” he said, releasing her hand and getting up.</p><p>Amy froze, growing pale as the truth sank in. By letting go of her original destiny, another path had opened, one of tragedy. A loss she refused to accept. A fortune that would put her conflicting loyalties to the test and possibly lead to her ruin. </p><p>The true warrior will rise and finally eliminate his shadow after falling from illusion’s grace.</p><p>Could she still prevent his fate? Or was he destined to be destroyed by the original regardless of what she did? </p><p>“As for what he thinks of you now, ” Shadow paused, eyes full of mirth as chaos energy gathered between his fingertips.  A signal that the training session was starting in earnest.</p><p>Amy used Chaos Control well before the Chaos Spears had a chance to reach their target, but he easily predicted where she would reappear and grabbed her by the throat. </p><p>She gasped, not expecting this kind of brutality from her Shadow. He gave her a hard look, and she had her answer. Exactly as she feared, Shadow would show her no mercy when he awoke from his slumber. </p><p>“Congratulations, you’ve been upgraded from a child he must protect to a threat he must neutralize.”</p><p>He dropped her then, having made his point. His eyes burned bright as if set ablaze, and she instinctively crawled away, a foreign fear invading her senses at the subtle change.  </p><p>“I would advise against freeing him prematurely, darling. You’re far safer with me,” he said, slowly making his way to her. The action came off as predatory when he was usually unbearably sweet. </p><p>Amy whimpered, rubbing her throat, wondering if more pain was coming her way. She certainly didn’t feel safe anymore. Could she trust any Shadow at this point?  </p><p>As if reading her thoughts, his expression softened looking at her as if she were a soft fragile thing. He bent down and offered her his hand.</p><p>“Did I not give you enough warning?” he asked, frowning when she refused his help and got up herself. </p><p>“It’s not that. You seem different from before,” she said, picking at the bits of dust trapped in the folds of her skirt even though it was a futile effort. Anything to avoid eye contact right now.</p><p>“Do you really find me so unappealing?”</p><p>She looked up, then, suspicious of the question. It didn’t match his new programming. Red eyes continued to burn into her, as if possessed.</p><p>“Who are you?” she asked bluntly, a feeling of dejavu passing over her.  </p><p>He laughed, eyes growing brighter as he adopted Shadow’s signature pose. “You really are far too intuitive for your own good, consider me a friend.”</p><p>“That doesn’t really answer my question. Why are you even here? I wanted to train with Shadow, not you,” she said, surprised by the venom of her own words. </p><p>“This Shadow is very good at his primary function, but he lacks the discipline of his last iteration. The boy does not have the skillset to teach you. I do,” he explained, showing little interest in the conversation. He was too busy taking in her makeshift world.</p><p>Amy scowled, following closely behind him. She hated being ignored. And, who was he to decide these things anyway? She was in charge here. Why was he acting like he could do whatever he wanted?   </p><p>“That’s not true. He taught me to fly, just the other day,” she argued.</p><p>He side-eyed her and scoffed. “You’re giving him far too much credit, darling.”</p><p>“He was certainly present, but you picked up the fundamentals of flight quite quickly, without much prompting. You're a fast learner, but I suppose given your history that’s to be expected.”</p><p>Amy bent her ears back reflexively and crossed her arms, not entirely sure she liked what he was implying.</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?” she shot back. </p><p>“You’ve always had to fend for yourself. No family to speak of, only a fickle wind to follow that offers little to no guidance. In that kind of environment, a young girl has to adapt swiftly if she doesn’t want to get left behind,” he answered calmly, waiting for a rebuttal.</p><p>He didn’t receive one. Instead, Amy looked away, feeling the need to explain herself. </p><p>“I didn’t mind. I wanted to prove myself, and I did. Maybe, I got in over my head sometimes, and some things would have been easier if I’d had someone to help me, but if I had the chance to take it all back, I wouldn’t, even if nothing turned out the way I thought it would. I helped a lot of people, and that’s worth more than any tear I might have shed.”</p><p>A warm feeling surged through her, lighting a flame inside her soul, maddeningly familiar yet foreign to her senses. The growing light threatened to burst and its excess energy left her core and bathed her fur in a faint golden glow. Amy couldn’t believe her eyes, and yet, she knew this was no dream. She’d been seconds away from going Super. But why now? </p><p>If the look in his eyes was anything to go by, the danger had long since passed.   </p><p>He was so utterly enchanted by her that there were practically stars in his eyes. With little regard for her personal space, he squeezed her cheeks and ruffled her quills. </p><p>“You really are precious. I promise good fortune will come to you so long as you’re with me,” he said, creating an apple blossom from thin air that he happily placed behind her left ear. </p><p>Amy touched the pale pink flower, aware of the flower's other meaning. Prefer me to all else, huh? She sighed, rubbing her throat. Lucky her. She cast him a suspicious glance. The fear had ebbed, but the curiosity remained.</p><p>“What should I call you?” she asked, hoping a name might help place him in her mind. He seemed so familiar. Where had he even come from? What was he?</p><p>The Phantom Ruby pulsed, giving her a hint. She looked into his illuminated red eyes and realized the truth of them. He gave her a coy smile, otherworldly presence more visible now that she knew the truth. </p><p>“Anything you like,” he teased. The dark mist flickering around him like flames.</p><p>“I think I’ll call you, Red. Simple and to the point,” she reasoned. </p><p>His usual self assured demeanor disappeared, and he scrunched up his nose in distaste.  </p><p>“Is that really what you're going with?”</p><p>Amy giggled, knowing full well what name he’d been expecting, but she wasn’t looking to feed his ego. She already had Mister Ultimate Lifeform to deal with.    </p><p>“Would you prefer Hyde?” she asked casually as if she wasn’t fully aware of the connotations of the name. She’d started reading the book during her short lived attempt to impress Sonic with her love of literature but found the dark themes a bit too depressing for her to ever finish. When Sonic found out, he’d been quick to recommend happier titles.</p><p>Unfortunately, the weather had cleared up, and he hadn’t stuck around to keep her company, but that was typical for them, then. Wasn’t it? Every sweet moment she had with Sonic was fleeting and hard to string together into any sort of foundation. Nothing ever kept the wind’s attention long. </p><p>Red flinched, immediately understanding the reference. He looked away, ears bent and glitching slightly. “No, Red will suffice,” he decided.</p><p>Amy’s expression softened, and she touched the stone, contemplating the being whose existence was tied to it. He clearly cared what she thought of him, and if nothing else, he was loyal to her. That had to count for something. Maybe, if she took the time to befriend him, she paused, touching her throat. He’d be less intense.</p><p>As if hearing her words, he snapped to attention, and a trickle of sweat fell from her forehead as she was reminded of his otherworldly origins. She let go of the ruby. He chuckled again, shaking his head. </p><p>“I can always hear you. It’s simply easier to communicate with you when you reach out to me,” he answered honestly.</p><p>As the implications of this hit her, Amy’s mind was reeling. He probably did know her whole life story as well as every embarrassing fantasy or desire she’d ever had. Panicking, she instinctively curled up into a ball in an effort to hide herself away. Something she hadn’t done since childhood when she still called herself Rosy the Rascal.</p><p>Red crouched down beside her and rolled his eyes. He’d never seen a hedgehog curl up like that and remain stationary for long, but he could guess well enough that she wanted to be left alone and didn’t try to coax her out of this strangely compact form. At least, not physically, he could read her emotions like a book and easily discovered where he’d gone wrong. </p><p>“Don’t be so dramatic, darling. I would never use anything I learned against you. Like or not, I am on your side,” he insisted, and he did mostly mean that. </p><p>So long as he could keep her, Red was more than content to follow her whims, even if he had to deal with an obnoxious blue hedgehog for all eternity. With any luck, he wouldn’t end up being quite as immortal as this one. </p><p>Amy uncurled slightly, squinting her eyes at him as she held her knees extremely close to her chest. Ears uncharacteristically flat as she attempted to read him. She was usually so cheerful. He didn’t know why he seemed to bring out the worst in her. </p><p>Perhaps, he could chalk it up to simple inexperience. She was the first mobian to treat him as more than a tool, and he’d never had much reason to learn people's complicated social game before her. It didn’t help that his only other resource on the subject was Shadow who was severely lacking in that particular area. He’d been content with his small circle of loyal companions and only ever seemed to venture beyond that as Sonic or Amy’s behest.  </p><p>“You’re staring. It's rude when you’re not a sentient rock,” she remarked dryly.</p><p>Red tilted his head in slight confusion. One of the things he’d picked up from Shadow’s memories was that eye contact was extremely important. Had he been misinformed? </p><p>“ I thought it was rude to look away,” he countered, taking careful note of her reaction. She’d definitely gotten huffy when he’d been distracted by their new simulated environment. </p><p>Every ounce of suspicion directed his way vanished, replaced by a startled look. She uncurled completely, sitting up to face him. Her face scrunched up in concentration, considering his words. </p><p>“It depends. You’re really not good at this people thing, huh?” she asked, searching his eyes. He kept his expression neutral as his ears flicked back and forth, wondering if he’d given too much away.  </p><p>“There are some gaps in my knowledge,” he admitted, deciding she’d reacted favorably enough to the truth before. He’d like to see something other than fear in her eyes for a change.</p><p>Amy nodded, reaching for the stone that binds them together out of habit. She stopped short, thinking better of it. He didn’t want to scare her away, and yet, he couldn’t help but growl in frustration. Why were they drifting further and further apart the longer they were together?  </p><p>Strangely enough, the growling didn’t seem to phase her. If anything, the sound spurred her into action, and she deliberately grabbed the ruby. A curiously familiar large blue behemoth with sharp fangs and piercing green eyes briefly flashed in his mind, and he had his answer. </p><p>Take a deep breath, Amy commanded silently, directly channeling his mind. </p><p>Her calm demeanor instantly infected him, and he obeyed without question, sucking unneeded air into his lungs and exhaling when the pressure became too much for his mobian body to bear. </p><p>Starting to decompress, he reluctantly sat down next to her when she gestured for him to join her, deciding to leave thoughts of their training session behind him for now. </p><p>Again, she insisted, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly in her own. </p><p>Completely focused on her, he did as he was told, taking a deep breath in and out, surprised, when the tension in his muscles disappeared completely. He hadn’t thought that was possible. There was never a moment when Shadow’s mind wasn’t on alert, and he had assumed the added stress to his body was normal for the creature he was possessing, but no, it was a simple side effect of his upbringing. Shadow rarely felt safe and had to actively work to keep himself in a calm state. What a tragic creature, he almost felt sorry for taking advantage of its one weakness. </p><p>He watched the Rose in question, drinking in the determined look on her face. An expression they were both fond of for much the same reason. Her tenacity had tied their fates together, and this quintessential part of her nature made her a force to be reckoned with. Apparently, the real Shadow missed riling her up during training sessions and had been disappointed when she’d ultimately rejected their offer to join Team Dark. </p><p>One more time, she demanded, squeezing his hand again.</p><p>After a simple inhale, exhale, images of decadent ice cream, beautiful clear skies, and a pristine city of white by the sea followed in quick succession. Personal memories of things she’d seen and would like to experience again. He made note of the locale for when they were free of Eggman, and no longer had to stick to his territory.  </p><p>Red, she called out.</p><p>His ears perked up, primed for a command. He shook his head, catching himself. It was far too easy to slip into a subservient mindset when in this body, especially when he trusted the person he was with. The grip she had on his soul wasn’t helping anything either. </p><p>And yet, he couldn’t say he minded. The problem was their link was tenuous at best, and if she discovered how completely at her mercy he was before he could bind them together for good, he was likely to lose her to one of the servers of Chaos. </p><p>Amy was an empathetic creature and a few heartfelt words from either of them could easily sway her to their side if he wasn’t careful. He needed to remain in control for the time being.   </p><p>Did you see any of that? She asked, aggressively pressing against his mind without really meaning to. He stifled a laugh, amused by her boundless energy. </p><p>Yes, a city in Spagonia you visited once, he answered back, more than pleased that she was willingly sharing parts of herself with him. He’d grown accustomed to learning things about her passively as they came to the forefront of her mind, but this felt different, more significant. It left him curious. </p><p>Why these memories? </p><p>The silly dear didn’t realize he’d been speaking rhetorically and answered him. The blue behemoth entered his thoughts again. His giant paw held by her tiny delicate hands as if she cared not a bit that his razor sharp claws could easily rip her to shreds. He resisted the urge to laugh when he figured out who he was looking at. Of course, most roads lead back to Sonic in one way or another when one was dealing with Amy Rose.    </p><p>“Is there anything else you’d like to know?” she asked, releasing her hold on the Phantom Ruby for the time being. Satisfied, she’d calmed him down. </p><p>There was really only one question he wanted answered, the root of his frustrations, made all the worse now that he knew that there was nothing Sonic could be that would ever drive her away. Even now, she did not hate him, despite his best efforts to poison her against him.</p><p>“Why are you still afraid of me?”</p><p>Amy frowned, letting go of his hand as she narrowed her eyes at him, suspicion returning ten fold. He didn’t understand why until she finally spoke. </p><p>“Still?” She let the question linger, daring him to answer it. </p><p>Aware the truth would likely send her on another murderous rampage, he changed tactics, asking a question that was likely best left unanswered but was simply too intriguing to ignore.  </p><p>“You’ve trained with Shadow before. He’s not one to hold back, but you’re comfortable training with him. Am I correct in my assessment?” He asked, seeking clarification.</p><p>Her hand automatically went to her neck as she stared back at him with unspeakable dread, Red flinched, hating that she was directing her fear at the wrong target. </p><p>“What did I do that was so wrong?” he asked, genuinely curious. He hadn’t expected such a visceral reaction from her when he took advantage of the opening. The Shadow that had mentored her had put her through far worse, having been a very trial by fire kind of teacher.     </p><p>Practically burning holes into him, she answered him frankly, full of contempt. His body locked up again, anticipating a battle. He desperately hoped not. Red did not like it when those fiery eyes turned against him, greatly preferring for them to remain in sync. Something that was proving exceedingly difficult, thanks to the users of Chaos.   </p><p>“After everything he’s been through, Shadow would never inflict unnecessary pain onto anyone he considers a friend. I trust him. What you did was a deliberate show of force designed to instill fear in me and it worked, only you were hoping I’d end up fearing the real Shadow instead of you. Am I wrong in my assessment?”  </p><p>Red couldn’t deny it, but he hadn’t meant to be cruel. He was only preparing her for the reality of her situation if she chose to release Shadow from his voluntary prison. She was far too merciful for her own good, and it would cost her dearly if he didn’t stop her from sabotaging herself. </p><p>“You’re not wrong, but neither was I. He won’t take kindly to what you did, dear. Let him live in his lotus eater machine for all eternity if he so desires.”</p><p>As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he shouldn’t have said them. He’d barely reintroduced himself, and it had been the wrong time to suggest it. </p><p>Her eyes flashed red as she tapped into his power, creating a new hammer for herself. This one matched her new aesthetic and had large spikes decorating each side of the mallet’s head. He teleported out of her reach, expecting another onslaught of wild uncalculated fury. She made no move to follow him, shutting her eyes and gripping her new hammer tightly. Confusion soon morphed into understanding as Chaos energy pooled around her new creation, and the meter embedded on the mallet’s head turned green.</p><p>Silently using Chaos Control, he appeared behind her, hoping to disarm her before her new weapon became a problem. Familiar with Shadow’s tactics, she easily predicted the move and slammed her hammer into his stomach. Red and the Hammer both glitched at the same time, briefly appearing pixelated before the chaos energy surrounding them kept either from disintegrating into nothing. The force of the blow knocked him into the ground, and he cursed, slightly annoyed she’d used his own trick against him. She smirked, pressing the flat face of her hammer to his muzzle.      </p><p>“I’m not leaving him in there. Understood?” </p><p>Red let out an exasperated sigh but relented, giving her a curt nod. There was still plenty of time to change her mind. She helped him up, smiling brightly as if she hadn’t tried to end him moments ago.</p><p>“Good, friends don’t let friends live a lie,” she said without a hint of self awareness. </p><p>Red raised an eyebrow at that. The view was stunning, and the environment was perfectly serviceable for training but that clearly wasn’t the reason she’d brought the copy here. She’d been in the middle of a date when he rudely interrupted them whether she realized it or not.    </p><p>“Are you sure Sonic is the one you like?” he asked, in a disbelieving tone. She certainly seemed receptive enough when he wasn’t the one in possession of the body. He ignored the flicker of flame that settled in his stomach, ready to grow into an inferno at a moment's notice. Acting like a ticking time bomb wasn’t going to get him anywhere. </p><p>“I like all my friends, except you maybe,” she shot back easily, teasing him, in a much better mood now that she had access to a hammer again. </p><p>Red rolled his eyes and decided it was better not to argue. Her actions spoke volumes, and the copy was obviously worming his way into her heart. He was more interested in the peculiar environment she’d concocted for their little get together. She always came up with the most interesting things.       </p><p>“You’ve really outdone yourself, dear,” Red said, experimentally stepping on the multicolored tiles, delighted when they changed color.</p><p>“Shame, we don’t really have time to play,” he said, lifting her up bridal style. </p><p>Apparently, her little display of power hadn’t been enough to put him in his place. She hated the way they scooped her up so casually as if it was a given that Amy Rose wanted to be carried around like a princess. </p><p>“H-hey, could you both please stop doing that?” she said, growing red. </p><p>Just because she let Sonic carry her around, it didn’t mean she wanted every hedgehog on Mobius thinking they could. He hmphed, seeming to have picked up at least a few of Shadow’s mannerisms. </p><p>“If you insist,” he said, jumping into the void and letting her go. </p><p>Amy let out a tiny eep, forgetting about the antigravity for a moment. The familiar weightless feeling flooded her senses, and she scrambled to hold onto something as she became disoriented. A gloved hand reached out to her and she latched onto it. With little effort, he shifted them into a standing position.</p><p>Then, using the antigravity field to his advantage, he twirled her around a few times. Still in a daze, she admired the stars above and embraced the weightless feeling. Heart pumping hard, she took one look at her impromptu dance partner and realized exactly what this looked like. Blushing madly, she scolded herself for inadvertently creating a romantic scenario and pulled herself free.  </p><p>“We should probably get back to training,” she said, off handedly. Attempting to put some distance between them and avoid becoming the antigravity’s play thing again, but she found herself flailing after a few steps. </p><p>His booming laughter made her face burn harder as he lazily drifted over to her.</p><p>“Did you forget you can fly dear?”</p><p>Amy scowled, refusing to answer. Instead, she closed her eyes and thought of a pleasant memory. No longer stuck in a colorless void, she breathed easy, happily admiring the clear sky above. A butterfly passed her line of vision, and she shifted her gaze, following its journey until the precious thing landed on a nearby wild flower. Clasping her hands together, she smiled fondly at the creature. A familiar voice broke her concentration.</p><p>“Hey Amy, looks like springtime’s come early.” Her hero and his little protege, perfectly safe and sound, finally ready to take a breather. She happily skipped over to him as he plopped down onto the grass. For once, her timing was perfect. </p><p>Another voice, once comforting but now more often than not, distressing, broke the illusion.  </p><p>“You’re glowing gold again, interesting.”</p><p>Her eyes snapped open, and she saw the gold fade as the customary red and purple aura took over. Amy stepped onto the platform, mourning the loss of the gentle light as she was once again surrounded by darkness. She avoided his fierce gaze, worried he would sense her sorrow and judge her harshly for it.  </p><p>“What about him makes you so happy? I wonder if-” he paused, and Amy turned to face him as her curiosity betrayed her better judgment.</p><p>In his hands were a set of tarot cards, he picked one and flipped the card for her to see, Destiny. Her heart leapt to her throat, unsure of what to make of the Phantom Ruby’s choice. Was it a threat? Was it a sign that her original destiny was not beyond her yet? Or was he only toying with her?</p><p>“It really is destiny or if the cards led you to him simply because he just so happened to be the first person who could actually help you get the adventure you craved.”  He sighed, clearly believing the latter. </p><p>“I suppose we’re stuck with him,” he said with a dismissive wave. </p><p>Amy felt herself relax. Glad, the ruby seemed to recognize that she and Sonic were a package deal. Whatever that might mean at this point.</p><p>“So, I best prepare you for his inevitable temper tantrum. Once you have a proper grip on your powers, he won’t be able to punch his way into a resolution that benefits him. You can decide your own destiny,” he said, conjuring enemies for her to face. </p><p>Amy nodded, automatically turning her attention to the battle at hand. Nothing too complicated, only a few Eggman robots. She summoned her new hammer, avoiding enemies as she charged it up with the free floating Chaos energy surrounding her. She easily dispatched them all with one wild swing of her hammer. She grinned maniacally, happy her new weapon did not break apart from the force of her swing as it would have without the added energy boost. Her knowledge of Chaos was coming in handy.    </p><p>“ That’s cheating, not to mention impractical. You’re not going to have access to Chaos energy when you face Sonic. Try focusing your anger into a projectile the ruby can manifest,” he suggested.</p><p>Unfortunately, her initial anger at his presence had long since morphed into a general mistrust.</p><p>“What anger? I don’t feel- Gah.”</p><p>An Eggman Pawn managed to blast her, but thankfully, she only felt a slight sting. He wasn’t letting her face fully powered enemies just yet. He’d taken her complaint about his extreme methods to heart. </p><p>“What about Sonic?” he asked with a look that said he didn’t have much hope for this particular conversation but still felt the need to bring it up.</p><p>Instantly, an image of Sonic looking up at her as if he were a kicked puppy sprang to mind. She really couldn’t bring herself to be mad at him after their last encounter, not when she’d left him looking like that.  </p><p>“Why would I be angry at Sonic?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. </p><p>They’d actually been on pretty good terms before this whole Phantom Ruby thing. The poor guy probably had no clue what had come over her. Amy was a little ashamed that she’d let her old resentments and frustration take control of her like that. </p><p>“He constantly leaves you,” he said, attempting to tear into her old insecurities. </p><p>Amy shook her head and sighed. The nature of the chase had changed over the years. She simply didn’t have the same drive to track him down to the ends of the earth as she had when she was a high energy little girl with a dream and a deck of tarot cards. He’d noticed, and instead of questioning why that might be, he’d started leaving her hints on where she could find him next and occasionally offered her what he thought she wanted: a wink here, a trip to the chilli dog stand there, a subtle play on words that could maybe count as flirting if Amy read between the lines. </p><p>Anything to string her along a little longer, because the fact of the matter was that the chase had always been enough for him, but she needed so much more.  </p><p>“That hasn’t been the case for a while,” she said with a shrug. </p><p>Amy had grown up, and Sonic simply hadn’t. She’d never had the heart to tell him. </p><p>Now that she had the ruby, she could change the game to something that could keep both their interests. Amy would just have to convince Sonic that this new game could be just as fun as the chase that had come before.   </p><p>“He literally left you in a tornado once,” he said, eye twitching. </p><p>“He apologized eventually. Why are you on his case anyway?” Amy said, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.</p><p>“I’m starting to think you have a hidden agenda. If you’re not going to play nice, I want Shadow back. I don’t trust you,” she said, stomping her foot.  </p><p>Pinching the bridge of his nose, he shook his head. “Forget I said anything, dear. Anger obviously isn’t the right approach for you. Is there something you want to protect?”</p><p>“My darling Sonic, obviously” Amy said, grinning wickedly as she got the reaction she was looking for.  </p><p>The dark aura around this impostor Shadow intensified and his eyetwich became more pronounced.    </p><p>“Of course, I don’t know what I expected,” he said, clenching his fist. </p><p>Her amusement was short lived as she noticed telltale signs of a Chaos Blast in progress, the chaos energy building up in his body making him radiate a vibrant red. </p><p>“And Shadow, I don’t want him to die, but the cards keep telling me he will,” she blurted out in a panic, strategically backing away as she prepared her shield. </p><p>The Chaos Blast leveled half the platform, but she’d become adept at creating forcefields after being subjected to one too many Chaos Spears, and the area she was standing on was perfectly intact. When the dust cleared, he approached her, conjuring tarot cards and picking one at random. </p><p>He offered her the card. Hesitantly, she turned the card over, hoping against all hope that something had indeed changed. She dropped the card. Death, death still followed her.</p><p>“Am I still not strong enough?” she wondered aloud. Hands shaking as the tears fell down her face in earnest. He wiped away her tears, expression serious. </p><p>“You will be.” </p><p>The previous batch of Eggman robots disappeared with a wave, and one heartbreakingly familiar robot took its place, sporting all of the doctor’s favorite colors. He was less bulky than Omega, but no less powerful. Her mind did not dwell on that long, fixated on the hexagonal capsule on his chest. Would there be a little virtual bird there? </p><p>“Gamma? Why is he-”</p><p>Shiny unfeeling green bulbs stared back at her as he raised his blaster. She flinched, and in her shock, the training that had been drilled into her was forgotten. Amy started shaking as she realized what she was being asked to do. Red took one look at her and shook his head, raising his hand to call off this new Gamma’s attack. Calmly, he took her by the shoulders and held her close. Her trembling got worse as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.   </p><p>“You’re not going to be facing off against enemies, Amy. You’re going to be facing off against people you consider friends.”</p><p>Her mind flashed to Sonic and that crestfallen look in his eyes that she couldn’t seem to escape. She wrestled free from his grip, ignoring the disapproving burst of heat coming from the ruby. </p><p>“No, I won’t- I won’t hurt him,” she cried, reduced to pitiful sobs at the mere thought of destroying the robot she’d saved all those years ago. The first friend she’d ever lost. </p><p>Even in this soulless state, she couldn’t do it.  </p><p>His eyes hardened as he signaled for Gamma to continue. With absolutely no hesitation, he pointed his weapon at her. She froze even as her mind screamed for her to move. </p><p>“Then, suffer the consequences,” he growled, escaping the blast via Chaos Control. He did not offer her the same courtesy.There was no one to save her this time. </p><p>Amy took the full brunt of the blast, an agonizing fire engulfing her. She crumpled to the ground in excruciating pain. Panicking, she attempted to curl up into a ball but was in far too much pain to actually pull it off. Defeated, she settled for pulling her knees as close to her chest as she could, wishing for the impossible. No blue blur came. She sniffed, ears bent back as Gamma advanced.   </p><p>“Why are you doing this? I’m your friend,” she screamed, knowing it was useless. </p><p>Red clearly hadn’t bothered to program him with any sort of personality. And yet, the robot paused tilting his flat square head down to look at her.</p><p>“New data acquired. Friendship acknowledged. Training will commence again in three, two-”</p><p>Hope rekindled, the defensive maneuvers her last Shadow taught her kicked in, and she instinctively used Chaos Control to get out of Gamma’s reach. </p><p>“One,” he finished, obliterating most of the platform immediately in front of him. He scanned the abyss below for signs of her and found nothing. </p><p>“Friend eliminated. Unwanted result, commence retrieval procedures and perform first aid.” </p><p>Beginning a more thorough scan, he discovered something contradictory to what he was seeing. The abyss below him did not exist. He lowered his weapon, processing the new information.</p><p>“Environment is not what it seems. Friend still alive, hiding,” he deduced, about to continue his analysis when his new friend appeared before him. No longer showing obvious signs of stress. </p><p>Her heartbeat had returned to its normal level, and she was no longer shaking as if not put together properly. Friend was also only slightly singed despite taking a direct hit.  </p><p>“First aid not required, training can continue as scheduled,” Gamma decided, powering up his weapon. He canceled the directive when his pink friend placed herself in the line of fire.  </p><p>“Gamma, stand down,” she commanded, tightly holding onto the barrel of his blaster, convinced he would not shoot. The robot could see only one reason for this and double checked his data.</p><p>Assessing his servers, he found another listed as his primary master, a being named Red; the hedgehog standing atop the tower of the bridge on which they were currently located. </p><p>“Negative, friend does not have that authority.” </p><p>She scowled, roughly pushing his weapon away from her before turning to face his master. </p><p>“Are you betraying me? Is this some sick game you're playing with my heart before you go running back to Eggman and his jackal boy?” she spat, accumulating a strange violet energy around her body. </p><p>Red laughed, teleporting to her side using a different energy signature, as powerful as hers but less volatile. The strange violet energy appeared to be siphoning it from another source in the jungle, a living being. He tapped against the glass of his energy source, debating whether or not to store the information.       </p><p> “No darling, but you can’t hesitate,” he insisted, catching his friend’s fist before it could make contact with his flesh. His victory was short lived as pink friend was stronger than she looked and quickly began to overpower him. He silently asked for Gamma’s assistance, beckoning him with his other hand.</p><p>Can’t hesitate, Gamma reiterated to itself, storing the information to analyze on its own some other time. He fired a warning shot, forcing his friend to flee. His master continued to talk, undeterred by her sudden disappearance.    </p><p>“ If you do, your friends will incapacitate you and separate you from the ruby. And, we both know what will happen to Shadow then.” He flexed his fingers, pooling the stolen energy into the palm of his hand. He launched energy spears into the abyss, and Gamma provided artillery support.</p><p>Pink friend’s camouflage ability was compromised as a few of the master's energy spears hit, and she was further stunned by his barrage of bullets. The energy surrounding master’s form abandoned him and encircled his friend, healing her injuries automatically without her prompting. Gamma made note of her regenerative abilities, and the energy’s odd behavior.   </p><p>“I won’t let anything happen to Shadow, but I’m not planning to blindly attack my friends either. Why do you always have to go to such extremes? Maybe, I would be better off without you,” she shouted, rapidly propelling herself forward, reaching speeds on par with their main adversary’s capabilities. </p><p>Taking advantage of her built up momentum, she swung her fist, attempting a right hook. The punch never landed. Instead, Red vanished and reappeared behind her, teleporting her to his location.</p><p>“Oh, is that so? Let’s see you get out of this mess without me,” he said sweetly, releasing her.</p><p>Realizing the trap she’d fallen into, she scrambled to stop herself from hurting Gamma but was too inexperienced to effectively break in time. The robot readied his weapon and fired, more than willing to face destruction.   </p><p>“Chaos Control,” she shrieked. </p><p>Gamma did not know the meaning of these words; only that one second she was in front of him and the next, she’d grabbed him from behind. An illogical change in tactics that he did not comprehend and was proving ineffective in restraining him. He extracted her from his back, and lifted her so her eyes were level with his optic sensors. </p><p>“Gamma please, I know you’re a good person. I don’t want to destroy you,” she begged.</p><p>The robot was further puzzled by this response. He was not alive and by definition incapable of being a person. He had no distinct knowledge of right or wrong, only a simple objective. Fight until the pink hedgehog before him finally fought back. Gamma already knew that she did not wish to harm him but didn’t understand why. He was an enemy combatant. </p><p>“Why will you not fight back?” Gamma asked.</p><p>She smiled, exerting great effort to reach the hexagonal container that allowed him to function, pressing her hand against the glass. A photograph of three birds happily gathered together flashed across his screen. It served no function, but he saved the image and added it to his rapidly growing collection.   </p><p>“Because you’re my friend, silly, and you have a heart, even if you don’t realize it yet,” she said brightly. He copied her action, gently pressing his hand against hers, processing her statement. </p><p>“Do friends not fight friends?” he inquired, trying to solve the reason for their conflicting objectives. She nodded, tears in her eyes. He turned to face his current master.</p><p>“Permission to cease fighting. Objective cannot be completed under these conditions. We are friends. Friends do not fight,” he reasoned. </p><p>Red scowled, arms crossed as he scrutinized pink friend who simply smiled wider. </p><p>“Yeah Red, can he? Or are you going to be a big meanie?” she asked, lowering the bottom of her eyelid with her finger and sticking out her tongue. </p><p>He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Temporary cease fire granted,” he grumbled reluctantly. Gamma nodded in the affirmative, coding the command into his system as he gently put her down. </p><p>The robot then added a new secondary objective, continue friendship with pink friend. </p><p>“You’re annoyingly good at getting people on your side, Amy Rose,“ he hissed.</p><p>Gamma made note of pink friend’s official title, amending his objective.</p><p>New objective: continue friendship with Amy Rose.  </p><p>Miss Amy skipped over to him, no longer hostile. </p><p>“Wow, I must have really made you angry. You never say my name,” she said, pinching Red’s cheek in a clear display of dominance. Gamma did not understand why master chose not to retaliate. He looked down, breaking eye contact, another sign she outranked him. </p><p>Gamma gathered the evidence for later analysis. If current master obeyed Amy Rose, all logic stated Gamma should as well. He simply needed to collect sufficient data to confirm his hypothesis before officially updating his records.        </p><p>“Don’t get used to it, dear,” he muttered. </p><p>“Ah, training ended up being kind of a bust, but you did drop this bombshell on me,”Amy said with a sigh, gesturing to Gamma. She’d been so focused on not getting hit that she hadn’t even tried making projectiles using the ruby’s power. </p><p>More than a little frustrated, he glared at her, grinding his teeth, fangs more pronounced than usual. She rolled her eyes, getting irritated. He was acting like she was the one that had put him through needless emotional turmoil.</p><p>“Don’t give me that look. If you stopped trying to emotionally manipulate me for once- ” she argued only for Red to cut her off   </p><p>“Forget about the mission, you’re not ready to face, Sonic. I’m sending Shadow on his own to collect the ruby.”</p><p>“What? That’s ridiculous. I’m just as fast as he is now. I can go toe to toe with him, no problem.”  </p><p>Red scoffed, looking at her like she was delusional. The piercing gaze made her fur stand on end, and Amy hated how she instantly second guessed herself because it was Shadow’s face looking back at her. Her friend, her mentor . . . her tragic destiny, she clenched her fist, trying to focus on the anger she felt and not the hopelessness of the situation at hand.</p><p>“Without control, your new speed is useless. You’re also no closer to mastering your powers, and you wouldn’t even destroy a soulless robot that looked like your friend. Sonic would overwhelm you in seconds,” he argued matter-of- factly. Amy didn’t find herself disagreeing with his assessment. She sighed, summoning her tarot cards and picking one at random.        </p><p>“I can’t let Sonic win. I need this power if I’m going to keep everyone safe, especially-” she stopped abruptly when she saw what card she held in her hand. Death again. </p><p>It wasn’t a surprise, and yet, her hand trembled as she stared at the thin piece of cardboard in her hands. The more certain she became of the outcome, the less sure she became of everything else. Sensing her weakness, Red ensnared her in his arms and whispered exactly what she wanted to hear. </p><p>“That’s right. That silly egotistical blue hedgehog thinks he’s the only one who can be the hero.” </p><p>The words were straight from her own head, just a passing thought she’d had ages ago on one of the many occasions Sonic’s abundant self confidence had rubbed her the wrong way. She latched onto the idea, using it to fuel her anger. </p><p>Experimentally, Amy extended her hand, creating a huge title wave made entirely of red cubes. Red countered by recreating a copy of her favorite little spy, a dirty trick to test her resolve. His eyes were wide with panic, and she could hear him silently mouth the word Rosy. She didn’t hesitate.    </p><p>“I’m going to prove him wrong,” she finished as the wave crashed into the young hedgehog, snuffing out his code in an instant. </p><p>“Even if that makes me the villain in his eyes,” she said, lowering her hand. </p><p>As the gravity of what she’d done finally hit her, she fell to her knees, holding back a broken sob. He hadn’t even tried to run, and for someone like Sonic, that spoke volumes. </p><p>Amy shook her head. This couldn’t be happening. Is this really what she wanted? </p><p>Red had the nerve to laugh as he bent down to meet her. She let out a low growl as he came closer. He paid her no mind, trapping her in his embrace without a second thought. She stiffened, feeling his warm breath on her neck. The ruby flooded her with the same unwanted warmth, and she shivered.</p><p>He’s fine, precious. Still out there doing his job with that little fox friend of yours. That was just another copy of a copy, replaceable. Can you say the same of your dear Shadow? </p><p>The unspoken words echoed in her head, more stifling in their silence. </p><p>No, none of her friends were replaceable. It was better for them all in the long run if she was the one who held the Phantom Ruby’s power, not some sociopathic jackal waiting in the wings.  </p><p>Do you still want me to go away?</p><p>This made her pause. It wasn’t an honest question. He already knew what her answer would be. Or he wouldn’t have dared asked such a thing. </p><p>You’re a necessary evil. If my friend wasn’t in danger, you’d be more trouble than you’re worth, she stated reasonably. She expected him to lash out, but he only hummed thoughtfully.       </p><p>Oh, and what do you call people who don’t give you everything you want? He remarked dryly. </p><p>Darling, she shot back, trying to get a rise out of him if only so he’d stop messing with her head. It somewhat worked.The heat was less pleasant than before, almost painful. A warning.</p><p>Red withdrew his hands and stepped away from her, silently sulking. Good, the entity inhabiting the ruby had put her through absolute hell today and she wanted him to understand in no uncertain terms that her loyalties hadn’t changed in the slightest. He huffed, speaking out loud as if their internal conversation hadn’t happened at all.   </p><p>“ After that ruthless display, I don’t doubt your willingness to follow through with our plans, even if your loyalties are questionable at best,” he said, glancing at Gamma who had been silently observing them the entire time. She rubbed her arms nervously, wondering what the robot thought of her now.  </p><p>“I’ll allow you to face Sonic on the condition you take your training seriously.”</p><p>“As if you could stop me,” she countered, daring him to argue the point. He didn’t try.</p><p>Red simply waited because he already knew what her answer would be. He always knew what her answer would be. The Phantom Ruby was simply granting her the illusion of choice. She felt the small fire of rebellion sitting in her belly extinguish. The only thing left was her frayed nerves.   </p><p>“But I’ll do as you ask, darling,” she amended, lowering her eyes.</p><p>He’d won the moment she literally snuffed Sonic out of her life. </p><p>“If you leave Gamma out of it,” she finished.</p><p>Amy might have locked herself in a gilded cage, but she knew how to play her captor.  </p><p>Stars lighting up his eyes once more, he grinned maniacally, relishing his victory. Eating up the feigned affection, he literally started to shine, turning a brilliant silver as he took the hidden Chaos Emerald from his quills. Amy winced, resisting the urge to amass the wild Chaos energy floating around her. She couldn’t keep relying on Shadow’s strength. </p><p>“Gamma, you’re dismissed for today,” he said with a disinterested wave.   </p><p>“Affirmative, goodbye Amy Rose.”  </p><p>It was simple and to the point, and yet, there was something final in that farewell that squeezed painfully in her chest. The robot left without looking back.</p><p>“Hello Illusion,” she muttered to herself.  </p><p> “Shall we get started?” he asked, thousands of little spears already hovering in the air.</p><p>Amy gulped, sensing a hard battle ahead of her. There would be many more after.</p><p>Powering up, she found the only one she was really angry at right now was herself. Crimson eyes met each other. Her heart skipped a beat but not for the reasons the Phantom Ruby would have liked. He was another mirror, and again, she didn’t like what she saw reflected back at her. </p><p>Even so, if she was going to defy fate, it was a part of her that she could no longer deny. She rose like a phoenix from the flame, ready to burn anything that stood in her way. </p><p>“Take your best shot, you glorified monkey’s paw.”</p><p>When he laughed instead of immediately casting her into oblivion, she added “a sucker for literary references” to his list of weaknesses. </p><hr/><p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter:</p><p>Amy's POV: Trouble is a friend by Lenka</p><p>Phantom Ruby's POV: A mix between these two: As the world falls down by David Bowie &amp; Phantom by Nathan Sharp</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Wretched Secrets</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong> <em>Wretched Secrets</em> </strong>
</h3><p>
  <em> Joke Summary: In which Illusion Shadow finds out life is a series of inevitable betrayals</em>
</p><hr/><p>Neither of them wanted to be in the ridiculously large computer room stuffed with archaic tech that would easily be outclassed by any app on the Miles Electric. It was somehow even dustier than all the other abandoned rooms and strangely hard to find. Metal had ditched as soon as the words mandatory meeting with Eggman had left her lips. She’d let him and had encouraged Shadow to do the same so they all didn’t have to suffer, but he’d insisted on staying like the sweet loyal idiot he was. So, now they were stuck waiting for the egotistical mustachioed man with the beady bug eyed glasses to speak as he grinned maniacally at them from the oversized computer screen.   </p><p>“What do you want Eggman?” she snapped, hiding her nervousness under a layer of irritation. They’d been finalizing their plan to break into the Egg Fortress minutes before this mandatory meeting. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Maybe, they’d missed a camera?  </p><p>“Now Amy, is that any way to greet your partner in crime? I’ve given you plenty of “space to figure things out” as you put it. I want a report. Are you combat ready yet?” he asked. </p><p>Amy subtly relaxed and leaned back in her chair, ignoring the aching of her sore muscles. Red had insisted on close hand to hand combat after she’d become adept at firing projectiles at a distance, and despite all promises to the contrary, he’d been quite rough with her. With a flick of a wrist, she conjured six identical blades allowing them to hover above her to showcase her new skillset. Amy ignored the doctor’s obvious glee and the way it made her skin crawl. She would not allow herself to be used for much longer.  </p><p>“More than ready, I’ll get that stubborn blue hedgehog yet. I still can’t believe he got away from me last time.” She said playing up her childish whine to really sell her feigned disappointment. </p><p>The Doctor’s self congratulatory grin faded and he grew serious for a moment. </p><p>“Don’t patronize me, Amy. I know you let him go.”</p><p>She subtly gripped the ruby as her nerves threatened to give her away. It was lifeless in her hands, weary of Eggman’s presence. For once, she wished for even a flicker of heat to remind her of the limitless power at her fingertips. </p><p>Shadow never looked up from the communication device she’d given him, but his conniving smirk told her everything she needed to know. He was enjoying her misery.</p><p>“Are you really that surprised, Rose? Everyone knows you have a soft spot for Sonic,” he teased. She glared at him, allowing the blades to break apart into nothing, lest she be tempted to throw them at her supposed ally. </p><p>“I don’t understand. If you knew all along, why didn’t you cut me off from the ruby’s power and give it to jackal boy instead? Why let me go without saying a word about it?” </p><p>A different kind of dread filled her, then. One that had been slowly building since he’d set her free. An insidious poison that had seeped into her veins without her realizing. Had she done exactly what Eggman wanted by staying away? </p><p>The old man’s grin widened as he leaned forward, an obvious glint in his eyes that his dark shades couldn’t quite hide. </p><p>“Because you did in five minutes what I couldn’t in fifteen years, you clawed your way into that blue hedgehog’s head and threw out the last bit of his common sense. He’s been running around like a headless chicken trying to find you all week,” Eggman informed her, obviously taking pleasure in Sonic’s distress. </p><p>“And thanks to your little spy, it’s barely cost me a thing. You should have seen the look on Sonic’s face when he entered the last decoy base, and Zavok told him his princess was in another castle,” he continued, laughing his signature laugh before suddenly growing sheepish.</p><p>“I’m going to need a new Zavok by the way.” </p><p>Rolling her eyes, she waved her hand and a new Zavok appeared behind him, visibly displeased that she’d handed him over to Eggman again. She ignored him and gave Eggman an unimpressed look. </p><p>“Fine but don’t waste this one. I didn’t leave Zavok and Chaos with you to play pranks on Sonic,” she said dryly.</p><p>At least, Eggman didn’t seem to be actively plotting against her like she’d expected. For now, he saw her as a useful asset, even if it was obvious she wasn’t exactly on his side. Amy wasn’t sure what to make of Sonic’s apparent desperation. Had he really lost his mind? Why wouldn’t he go looking for the rest of the Chaos Emeralds when he was clearly outmatched? </p><p>“Oh, lighten up girl, I didn’t send him there to be cannon fodder. I gave Zavok every possible advantage in that fight and still, he disappointed me,” he argued, nostrils practically flaring as he leaned back in his chair and scanned the room.</p><p>“Speaking of disappointments, why isn’t Metal here? Already paranoid that he’ll betray you?” he asked, lips curling into a sneer. </p><p>“I told him you’d be here, and he flew off without a word,” Amy said brightly, happy to twist the metaphorical knife Metal had stuck into Eggman when he’d chosen to come with her.</p><p>The doctor’s sneer morphed into a scowl as he tapped his fingers on the metal counter, more than a little put out by the news. She almost felt sorry for him, almost.     </p><p>“Still too cool for his old man, I see,” he grumbled to himself. </p><p>Shadow snickered and decided to provoke him. “He’s our robot now.” </p><p>Eggman sent a nasty glare Shadow’s way but otherwise ignored the comment, hellbent on changing the subject. </p><p>“Bring your team to the Egg Fortress as soon as possible. I’m sending the Phantom Ruby to the Death Egg in three days time, and I don’t want that blue rat ruining my plans at the last minute,” he said, finally cutting to the chase. </p><p>Biting her tongue, she decided to overlook the blue rat comment so they could end the meeting in peace, and she could go right back to undermining him. Unfortunately, Shadow had other plans and interrupted her before she could get a word in.     </p><p>“What’s the matter, doctor? Is Zavok and jackal boy not working out as well as you hoped? Or are you finally ready to admit that you can’t beat Sonic on your own?”</p><p>Eggman’s scowl deepened as he leaned forward, again ignoring Shadow in favor of intimidating Amy. She sighed, knowing Shadow had just painted a giant target on his back. </p><p>“I’d teach your little Sonic replacement to watch his mouth if I were you. We both know what happened to the last Shadow that crossed me. It would be a shame if this one suffered the same fate because you spoiled him rotten.”</p><p>Shadow kept his eyes fixed on the little trinket she gave him, but it was obvious that he was no longer preoccupied with it. She recognized the way his body locked up, shifting into survival mode as the tension in the room grew thick. Nevermind the fact, Eggman was miles away without the means to attack them, even if he wanted to. </p><p>Amy narrowed her eyes, feeling an unexpected heat pool in her stomach as she subconsciously prepared her body for a Chaos Blast that she was ill prepared to deal with. She took a deep breath, reigning in her resentment.  </p><p>“Don’t you dare blame me for this. You brought this on yourself when you asked me to give him a little attitude adjustment. What did you expect?” </p><p>“Not to be sassed at my own meeting, that’s for sure. I know you can control your little puppets better than that.”</p><p>Amy scoffed, more than a little offended. Tiny sparks of red energy darted around her form, crackling like lightning as her anger simmered under the surface. Of course, an old man that spent all his time with obedient robots wouldn’t understand her vision. She’d tried working with mindless minions before, and it had been less than satisfying.  </p><p>“They’re not empty shells, Eggman. This Shadow’s is not a puppet, and while we’re at it, the real Shadow isn’t either. He’s a person, and I’m not sure you ever understood that.” </p><p>A look of malicious glee crossed the doctor’s face as if she’d fallen right into his clutches. Her death grip on the ruby increased, but still, she felt nothing but her own sweaty palm. It was taking all her willpower not to smash the screen and end the conversation here and now. </p><p>“Foolish girl, you’ve completely forgotten that Shadow was made to be a weapon, practically designed from birth to take orders.”</p><p>Amy released the ruby, feeling something within her snap. Dark energy swirled around her as her fury rose to unhealthy levels. She stood abruptly, slamming her fists on the table.     </p><p>“That doesn’t matter. He chose to be a hero and leave his past behind. No one can control him anymore.” The rest of Amy’s words died in her throat when she realized how little her previous convictions mattered when confronted with the truth of the present. </p><p>The fact of the matter was that Amy could make Shadow do whatever she wanted, and they both knew it. Taking a deep breath, she returned to her seat and focused on keeping the Phantom Ruby’s dark energy in check. It quickly dissipated as her initial outrage was tempered by her own folly.   </p><p>“I won’t change his coding again. He’s a sweet and honest hedgehog that doesn’t deserve to be dragged to your level. I never should have listened to you in the first place,” Amy insisted, hoping to end the conversation there. She didn’t dare look in Shadow’s direction, afraid of what she’d see. </p><p>Eggman said nothing, a sinister smile on his face as he paused for dramatic effect.</p><p>“Tell me Amy, what’s the first thing Shadow did after destroying the Black Arms?”</p><p>Her blood ran cold as the reality of the situation doused the fire of righteousness running through her veins. Could Eggman be right?  </p><p>“He joined G.U.N., the military organization that killed his friend,” she said quietly, venom seeping into her words as she was reminded of the real reason she’d refused Team Dark’s offer. </p><p> The doctor seemed to enjoy the way Shadow flinched. Ear flat against his skull, he struggled to say something but was suddenly incapable of words, trapped in the inner turmoil of his own mind. She hesitantly reached for his hand when Doctor Eggman asked his next carefully crafted question designed to trap her in her own uncertainty.  </p><p>“Why do you think that is?”</p><p>Amy swallowed nervously, wishing she had smashed the monitor when she had the chance. She had opinions, of course, but she wouldn’t share them now, not when her Shadow looked so lost in memories that were not his own.   </p><p>“I don’t know. I wish I did,” she said with a sigh. </p><p>Shadow had told her G.U.N. had changed and that he trusted the man running it, but she’d seen enough to know these were half-truths at best. Why would he defend an organisation that treated him like the weapon he tried so hard not to be? </p><p>“It’s simple, Amy. G.U.N. offered him exactly what he wanted. He craves structure, wants to be commanded, needs someone else to be in charge.”</p><p>Amy shook her head, tears threatening to spill over because part of her believed it.    </p><p>“No, you're twisting the truth into what you want it to be. That can’t be why.”</p><p>Shadow seized her outstretched hand, and she forced herself to look him in the eyes. He was ashamed, silently pleading forgiveness without consciously realizing it. </p><p>“He’s right, Rose. When you told Shadow that G.U.N. was taking advantage of him and you felt uncomfortable working with them, he was livid. He didn’t understand why you didn’t want to stay. ”</p><p>She felt her heart smash into a million glittering pieces because it was entirely possible the original Shadow would never be free, even if she kept him safe and sound. A prisoner of his own mind that wanted nothing more than to complete his next objective. </p><p>“There are worse places he could have ended up,” she conceded, feeling utterly defeated.</p><p>As much as she hated to admit it, Shadow had been happy working for G.U.N. and maybe, she could have forgiven the organization's flaws under different circumstances and joined his team, but that was not the path she’d chosen. No, she had returned to her old friends and dived head first into hero work, eagerly filling in for Sonic when he was away. Shadow had accepted her choice, even if he didn’t fully understand it. She would grant him the same courtesy and not deny him the life he wanted when he was ready to return. </p><p>“Exactly, Shadow was doing what he was born to do, and in a way, I was proud, even if the thought of those lying cowards getting a hold of my grandfather’s creation made me want to rip the world apart,” Eggman raged, pounding his fist on the table.   </p><p>“Yeah, let’s maybe not do that again,” Amy said, far too weary to even entertain the idea.  </p><p>Eggman grimaced, reminded of his previous failure. </p><p>“Wasn’t planning on it,” he muttered. </p><p>The doctor’s gaze fell on Shadow, growing melancholy. He was living proof of his grandfather’s legacy and all the tragedy that came with it, a bittersweet memory that would live on long after they were both gone. This time she felt the tiniest bit sorry for the doctor. It didn’t last.       </p><p>“It’s a shame. My grandfather’s design was almost perfect. His only mistake was giving Shadow a heart in the first place.”</p><p>Shadow stiffened, reflexively bending his ears back at the harsh words. And yet, his eyes held a vulnerable curiosity. This Shadow still trusted the doctor to answer his questions.  </p><p>“What makes you say that?”</p><p>The doctor hesitated, a touch of sentimentality escaping his otherwise megalomaniacle persona. He stood, turning away from the wide eyed hedgehog. Mind thousands of miles away aboard the ARK.    </p><p> “Sweet and honest people don’t last long in this world. Or I wouldn’t be the one talking to you right now, better that you take after me than her.”</p><p>Amy winced, knowing exactly what that answer would do to Shadow. What was worse, Eggman obviously cared in his own twisted way, or he wouldn’t have answered at all. </p><p>“We’ll be there as soon as we can. Goodbye, doctor,” she said,quickly cutting the transmission before he could say anything else.</p><p>Shadow was trembling and on the verge of tears. She bit her lip, deeply regretting letting him sit in on the meeting.  </p><p>“Shadow, are you okay?” she asked, worriedly looking down at the deathgrip he had on her hand. He let her go, misreading her intentions.   </p><p>“I’m fine. I simply wasn’t expecting either of you to bring up Maria. It caught me off guard,” he answered, doing his best to reign in his emotions.  </p><p>Amy was far too used to the people in her life shutting her out for that work. She embraced him, burying her face in his shoulder as she let out a shaky breath. Pained that she’d hurt him just as much as Eggman had.  </p><p>“I’m sorry I let him get to me like that. You shouldn’t have had to deal with Eggman at all. Next time, wait outside with Metal, okay,” she said, giving him one last squeeze before reluctantly stepping back. </p><p>“No, I want to stay with you,” he said, impulsively crushing her against him.</p><p>Amy blinked, getting a small taste of what it must be like to be on the receiving end of her own bone crushing hugs. She sighed, stroking his back quills patiently.  </p><p>“That’s your programming talking. You’re not going anywhere near Eggman, and that’s final. I’m not giving the doctor another opportunity to mess with your head if I can help it,” she promised. He only held onto her tighter, and her face twisted into a grimace.</p><p>Why did he have to be just as stubborn as she was? </p><p>“ I don’t care what he does to me. I’m not leaving you to die.”</p><p>The words snapped her back into reality, and she was reminded that she wasn’t exactly dealing with herself, not entirely. </p><p>“Oh Shadow, I know that conversation with Eggman brought back a lot of negative emotions, but that’s not going to happen.”</p><p>He increased his grip along her waist, clearly afraid to let go, and even though she was starting to feel breathless, she did nothing to dissuade him.   </p><p>“You don’t know that. The doctor can disable your powers with a push of a button, and you’d be defenseless. With the Chaos Energy flowing through me, I can still protect you, even if that happens.”</p><p>Amy knew exactly what Shadow was capable of when pushed too far and did not want him entering Eggman’s base with the mindset that everything was out to get her. She’d had quite enough of that attitude with her last Shadow.    </p><p>“ I’m not a defenseless little girl. I haven’t been in a long time. What is this really about?” she said, firmly taking hold of his shoulders and subtly pushing him away from her so she could breathe. </p><p>Thankfully, he did not attempt to latch onto her again, reassured by her touch. Her strong hands keeping him centered and with her, not aboard the ARK to replay the tragedy over and over in his head. If only she could repair the damage that was already done, he sounded so haunted by the horror he had witnessed as if the incident had once again cut deeply into his soul. </p><p>“I was the most powerful being in the universe, and I couldn’t save her. She was right in front of me, and I couldn’t do anything about it when they- I’ve never felt so helpless.” </p><p>He clenched his fist. Eyes brimming with emotion as he struggled not to release a cascade of tears upon the rusted floor below them.   </p><p>“I’m sorry you had to experience that again. I’ll keep you safe from now on, even if I have to protect you from yourself,” she promised, throwing caution to the wind to deliver one of her classic bone crushing hugs. </p><p>As expected, Shadow found the gesture comforting and didn’t immediately panic when faced with such overwhelming force, letting out only a brief grunt of surprise before he started to chuckle. </p><p>“This is the first time I’ve witnessed it, actually. I’m starting to see why he was initially such a misanthrope,” he confessed, trying to keep his tone lighthearted.</p><p>Amy released him then, confused by the new information. It didn’t match up with what she already knew. Sure, sometimes he needed a minute to recall some of Shadow’s less noteworthy adventures, but he’d brought up this particular incident multiple times since she’d created him. </p><p>“Wait, you’ve never seen Maria die. That can’t be right. You’ve mentioned it before.”</p><p>“Unless I concentrate on experiencing the memory, I don’t really register Shadow’s memories as my own. It’s like watching something terrible happen to someone else,” he said, sounding extremely guilty as if she’d caught him in the middle of an elaborate lie and in a way she had.</p><p>Amy laughed, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. She couldn’t really blame him for shying away from the tragedy that plagued Shadow’s life. In fact, she was relieved that he’d been largely unaffected by it until now. </p><p>“No wonder you kept slipping up. Is that why you always seem so happy? You don’t remember the bad stuff?” she asked hopefully. Every other possible reason made her sick to her stomach. </p><p>“ I’m happy when I’m with you. Everything else pales in comparison. I’d do anything to bring you even a fraction of the joy you’ve brought me,” he answered honestly.</p><p>Her hope withered into nothing. She would have said the exact same thing about Sonic. He was her literal shadow, and there was nothing she could do about that. She sighed, almost afraid to ask her next question. She didn’t want Eggman to be right.     </p><p>“ Do you feel that way when I ask you to help me? Do I give you purpose?”</p><p>His eyes immediately narrowed, and Amy knew that she’d been too obvious. </p><p>“You don’t think I’m sincere in my feelings because of what Eggman said about the other Shadow.” </p><p>Amy couldn’t stand his intense stare and broke eye contact. This was the last thing she wanted to discuss with him. He’d been doomed to love her from the start. The fact that he’d basically imprinted on her instead of Rouge was simply icing on the cake.     </p><p>“That’s not the only reason,” she muttered under her breath. His sensitive ears easily caught the words, and he tilted his head, utterly bewildered by the prospect.  </p><p>“What other reason could there be?” he asked.   </p><p>Amy frowned, cursing her carelessness. She’d been deliberately avoiding having this particular conversation with him for a while now. How could she tell him to his face that his feelings for her didn’t matter because he never had a choice in the first place? </p><p>“Forget I said anything, you can’t help being the way you are. Let’s go meet up with Metal and Gamma and finish going over the plan.” </p><p>Shadow strategically zipped in front of her, snatching her wrist before she could dash ahead of him. She didn’t bother to pull herself free. Better an argument break out here in the privacy of the old forgotten computer room than in front of a clueless Gamma and the already vengeful Metal.    </p><p>“What exactly do you mean by that?” he asked, pulling her uncomfortably close when she didn’t answer right away, searching her eyes for the truth.                                    </p><p>No answers were forthcoming, only a kaleidoscope of emotions he couldn’t possibly begin to parse. And yet, he could tell that she wanted to run, yank her arm out of his grip and never talk about this again, but she held herself back because she knew exactly what he would feel if she did. He let go then because she deserved better than to be cornered and forced to reveal something that she was taking great pains to hide. He caught the brief look of shock on her face as if she’d been expecting more of a fight before it was quickly overshadowed by her overwhelming relief. </p><p>“Exactly what I said. Can we please just move on?I have a few surprises for our robo boys, and I don’t want to keep them waiting,” she said sweetly, conjuring two perfect replicas of the always coveted Chaos Emeralds like it was nothing. </p><p>Shadow’s jaw dropped, completely caught off guard by her new ability. She never ceased to surprise him, and his heart beat a fraction faster when she grinned wickedly at him, tossing one of the fakes up and down with practiced ease. How could she not see her own worth? Did she really think he’d follow just anyone? That his loyalty had come from nothing. No, she was perfection, and Sonic was a fool to run away from destiny, and his own counterpart was a coward for surrendering to fate without even trying.</p><p>“I got the idea from Tails. He made a fake emerald way back when, and I figured I’d give it a shot. Better than leaving Gamma and Metal without any protection,” she said conversationally.</p><p>Shadow nodded distractedly, fixated on the blue and yellow emeralds in her hands. She missed her friends more than she let on. His programming kicked in, and he couldn’t help but blame himself for not being a good enough replacement.     </p><p>“It wasn’t easy, mind you. I exploded half the base before I figured out what I was doing. What do you think?” she asked, proudly tossing the dark blue emerald for him to inspect.  </p><p>The searing heat was unmistakable as dark tendrils of energy poured out of the gem, attracted to the pure Chaos Energy around him. He nearly dropped the gem in shock, the sensation uncomfortably familiar for reasons beyond him. Despite the obvious powerboost, Shadow wanted nothing more than to toss the gem into the vacuum of space and never see it again.</p><p>“The energy signature is different, but you’ve packed a decent amount of power into them. I believe they’ll work as you intended,” he said, hastily handing her back the fake.</p><p>They wouldn’t fool Sonic, but that wasn’t what she wanted them for anyway. She jumped up and down excitedly, pleased that he’d found her handiwork adequate. A familiar warmth spread through him. It had been a while since she’d looked so carefree. </p><p>“Good, I don’t want anything bad to happen to you guys.”</p><p>Shadow frowned, wondering if he should warn her of the potential drawbacks of concentrating so much dark energy into one being, particularly one as unstable as Metal Sonic. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Rose was perfectly aware of the power within her and how it worked. Still, he couldn’t help but grimace as he noticed the way the negative energy clung to her like a damn parasite.   </p><p>Rose gave him a funny look, and he realized he was staring. It wasn’t polite to stare. He cleared his throat, deciding now would be a good time to change the subject.</p><p>“ Since the doctor is already expecting us, all we need to do now is contact our little spy and let him know where we will be in two days time. If Eggman’s intel is right, Sonic should come running the moment he knows where you are,” Shadow said with a smirk, scrolling through his contacts on his wrist communicator. </p><p>Amy hummed noncommittally. She wanted to see him, but something about Eggman’s story didn’t sit right with her. Sure, Sonic was impulsive but not so impulsive that he wouldn’t learn from his mistakes, and it was telling that Tails hadn’t come up at all. </p><p>Shadow pressed a button on his communicator  and a furious little hedgehog popped up on the screen, making a series of gestures that told her he was very cross with the hedgehog standing beside her. He took the sudden burst of anger in stride, rolling his eyes.   </p><p>“Those are very rude words and I don’t appreciate you using them,” he explained calmly. </p><p>This only seemed to enrage Sonic more as he continued to rapidly sign what exactly he thought of Shadow. When the older hedgehog didn’t react, he huffed and explained why he was angry in the first place. Shadow scowled, holding back a growl.   </p><p>“No, I didn’t do anything to Rosy. You’re being paranoid. Look, she’s right here,” he said, shifting the camera so she was properly on screen. </p><p>Startled and understandably nervous after what she’d done to the little hedgehog last time he was in her presence, she could quite stop her voice from trembling. </p><p>“Hello, little one, how are you feeling? You’re not getting all glitchy on me, are you?” </p><p>Sonic shot her a suspicious look, swiftly signing the word why, swiping down with extra gusto to show his agitation. She immediately backtracked, relieved he’d felt nothing of what she’d done to his copy.  </p><p>“No reason. Please, be nice to Shadow okay,” she said, offering him a pretty smile as she did her best to shake her sudden nerves. Sonic wasn’t all that convinced. </p><p>Never, he hurt you. You called out to me, and I heard you. I wanted to come, but Tails wouldn’t let me go. He explained adamantly, openly distressed on her behalf. </p><p>“Oh Sonic, I’m sorry I freaked you out. I didn’t think either of you would hear me. I’m fine now. I promise,” she reassured him sheepishly. </p><p>When she’d called out to Sonic, she hadn’t expected anyone to come, let alone this little one. </p><p>Suddenly serious, he shot Shadow a dirty look and quickly signed his next words. </p><p>We did. </p><p>Amy instantly paled, jumping to the worst possible conclusion. Sonic could be unforgiving when he wanted to be, and if he thought Shadow had hurt her . . . Her Shadow stayed quiet, far too troubled by what he had heard to start asking questions just yet. </p><p>“Does he know Shadow was involved?” she asked quietly. </p><p>Sonic shook his head, uncharacteristically gloomy.  </p><p>He heard you, but he couldn’t see through your eyes. His connection to you isn’t as strong for some reason.</p><p>Amy took hold of the ruby, feeling its subtle heat in her palm. She could guess why.</p><p>“Did he try and find me?” </p><p>No, he said if you wanted him around, you would have come with him, he signed, pouting slightly. </p><p>Her shattered heart scattered in all directions at the news, and she wasn’t sure that there was any treasure hunter in the world who would ever be able to put it back together. At her most vulnerable, Sonic hadn’t even tried to save her, and that hurt more than anything Red could have thrown at her. Holding back tears, she pushed Sonic out of her mind and focused on doing damage control. </p><p>“Please don’t tell him Shadow hurt me. The situation is a lot more complicated than that. It’s not his fault,” she pleaded, desperation bleeding into her voice.   </p><p>Her little Sonic was fuming, stomping his foot childishly on the ground in protest, not liking that order one bit, and Amy could already feel Shadow burning holes into her, wordlessly demanding an explanation. </p><p>How is it not his fault? I saw him do it! He sent that robot after you, and you wouldn’t attack it for some reason. Why shouldn’t I tell the other Sonic? Yeah, he’s being a stubborn idiot now but-</p><p>“I don’t remember any of that, and it’s not the first time I’ve had gaps in my memory. Rosy’s been keeping secrets,” Shadow cut in, rudely interrupting Sonic mid-rant. </p><p>The little hedgehog huffed and crossed his arms, eyeing him wearily. Something in his expression must have convinced Sonic that he wasn’t lying because he soon turned to her, strangely apprehensive.  </p><p>What’s going on, Rosy? he asked, innocently tilting his head in question. </p><p>Amy bit her lip, clutching the ruby tighter. How could she even begin to answer that? Did she want to? </p><p>No, she knew exactly how he’d react if he understood what she was dealing with on a daily basis. He’d run back to her in a heartbeat, stick to her like glue and fight Red off at every opportunity, assuming he didn’t immediately tell her Sonic where to find her. Making him aware of her situation was inconvenient at best, disastrous at worst. With that in mind, she put on a brave face and turned up the charm, ignoring Shadow’s silent judgement.</p><p>“Oh Sonic,” she giggled mercilessly</p><p>He instantly went rigid but unlike his counterpart, he did not run and stood with rapt attention, fascinated. </p><p>“ It was all a silly misunderstanding. Nothing you have to worry about. I need you to trust me, okay. Can you do that?” she asked, making her voice as sweet as honey. </p><p>He nodded, internally panicking. Why wouldn’t his body move? </p><p>“Good because we’re going to see each other real soon, and we can’t let them know we’re working together. That means we’re going to have to fight.”</p><p>He snapped out of his trance and shook his head, quickly signing his response. No, I won’t fight you. I’m not Shadow. </p><p>Her ear twitched as she heard Shadow’s low growl of frustration next to her. He’d touched a nerve. She laughed it off, willfully pulling Shadow towards her so she could capture his arm in a warm embrace. He quieted. </p><p>“I’ll go easy on you, then. Does Tails suspect you?” She asked, worried for him.</p><p>Sonic puffed up his cheeks, mildly annoyed by her little stunt before switching gears when she asked him about Tails. His face lit up, and he shook his head. </p><p>No, he thinks the world of me. The other Sonic seemed to for a second, but he wants to trust me. He let it go.  </p><p>“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind. For now, stay with them and keep me posted.”</p><p>Anything else? He asked with a raised eyebrow. </p><p>“In two days time, leak the coordinates of Eggman’s base and let them know that you’ve spotted Amy guarding the outside perimeter,” Shadow said without much fanfare. He definitely wanted the conversation to be over and done with.  </p><p>Sonic saluted, all smiles and sunshine.</p><p>No problem, I’ll send them right to ya. See ya soon, Shadow. Be nice, or I’ll come find you. He signed tauntingly. </p><p>Shadow let out a resigned sigh and didn’t comment. Sonic’s smile wavered slightly at that, but he quickly turned to Amy, once again the definition of optimism.   </p><p>I don’t care what the other me says. Call me and I’ll find you, no matter what. </p><p>Sonic winked, sending a quick air kiss her way. </p><p>Amy giggled again. Glad, she was at least on good terms with one Sonic. </p><p>“Bye Sonic ~ I love you,” she said in a sing-song voice, waving eagerly at the screen. </p><p>Sonic puffed up proudly. </p><p>I know. I love you too. Please be safe.  </p><p>I will. See you soon, little guy. </p><p>She ended the call, feeling a little less shattered. </p><p>What a sweetheart, a shame Tails needed him more than she did. He was exactly what a Sonic should be: kind, selfless, if a bit of a potty mouth. What about him did her Sonic not see in himself? Sonic . . . Have you really forsaken me? Or will you come running like Shadow said? </p><p>“Rose,” Shadow called out softly, squeezing her hand. </p><p>Amy blinked, having entirely forgotten that she’d taken hold of his arm. She resisted her sudden urge to let go, a little guilty that she’d been thinking about Sonic instead of the person right in front of her.   </p><p> “Yes?” Amy asked tentatively, waiting for his unspoken question. There was no sense in hiding this particular dark truth from him any longer. Shadow wouldn’t let this go, not after finding out that he’d hurt her. </p><p>“What are you keeping from me?” An ironic echo of her own words. </p><p>Amy laughed, leaning into him. At this point, she trusted him more than she trusted herself.</p><p>“You and the ruby are connected. I thought that much was obvious,” she teased, hoping to soften the blow a little. </p><p>After a brief moment of confusion, Shadow huffed, annoyed she’d thrown his words back at him.</p><p>“I’m being serious.”</p><p>“I am too. The Phantom Ruby has a mind of its own. He sometimes possesses you because he feels like I like you the most.”</p><p>Shaken to his core, Shadow stepped back, letting go of her. No longer trusting himself to be anywhere near her. Every misplaced memory, every strange thought, every stray piece of knowledge that had seemed to come from nowhere was actually the Phantom Ruby’s doing. He’d never really questioned it, content in his devotion. And now, he’d hurt her with no means to stop doing so. </p><p>“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can resist its influence,” Shadow admitted, lowering his eyes. </p><p>“I know, but you don’t have to worry. Red’s a little intense, but he means well. He was training me, and things got out of hand. That’s all,” she reassured him, stubbornly reclaiming his hand. </p><p>“Red? You named it,” Shadow asked in disbelief. He didn’t like the idea of her getting attached to her attacker. He eyed the dark energy clinging to her again. The original Shadow had been right to be weary of the ruby’s subtle pull. </p><p>“Well yeah, he’s not you, obviously, and I doubt he would have been okay with me calling him Faker,” she joked, trying to get him to lighten up. </p><p>“Rose, you were frightened enough that you literally reached out for the one person you’ve always relied on to save you from danger. Do you really expect me to believe this Red has your best interests at heart, knowing that?” he asked, studying her carefully. </p><p>Amy winced, rubbing her throat. “ Sometimes he’s crueler than he means to be, but he does sincerely want to help me.”</p><p>The silent confession cut deep into his already wounded soul. The Phantom Ruby had worn his face and mercilessly brutalized her. Eggman was right. He was nothing but a puppet on a string, powerless in the face of his puppeteer. </p><p>Unwanted memories forced their way to the forefront of his mind. He saw himself desperately pounding his fist against glass, begging Maria to release him, only for her to pull the lever and suffer the consequences. The gun shot rang out, and abruptly, he was in another enclosed space, once again pounding against fortified glass, shouting Rose’s name in shock and anger until the sedative kicked in and forced him into darkness. He shut his eyes.</p><p>Why was he always so helpless?</p><p> A foreign rage consumed him, more powerful than any he’d experienced before as he struggled to control the wild Chaos Energy flowing into his core, ready to burst and set his soul on fire. Part of him was tempted to unleash all his frustrations into one cathartic blast but she was still holding onto him so tightly, far too trusting of his ability to keep cool under pressure and not explode while she was near. Taking a deep breath, he let the spark within him die. She would never abandon him, and for once, the thought was frightening instead of reassuring. </p><p>“Forget about the ruby, Amy. Go home to your friends and have Tails get rid of the protype. If jackal boy ends up with the ruby, so be it as long as you don’t suffer anymore.”</p><p>If Shadow couldn’t love her as she deserved, he’d let her go. He’d rather disappear than let anymore harm come to her. The ruby’s possessive heat tried to claim him then, but he had the sense to push it back, more sensitive to its signature after holding its concentrated dark energy in his hands. </p><p> Without warning, Amy launched herself at him, quite literally taking his breath away as she seized him by the waist. He managed to brace himself in time, automatically wrapping his arms around her to steady her. Like a rush of adrenaline, he remembered the first time, the second, the third until they all blurred together into this single moment.     </p><p>“Do you know why I’m doing all this?” she asked quietly.</p><p>Shadow furrowed his brows, trying to concentrate and not give in to the overwhelming warmth of her embrace. He was failing spectacularly. As the seconds ticked by, he scrambled to give some kind of coherent answer, head swimming from the close contact. “To get back at Sonic?” he answered back feebly. </p><p>This turned out to be the worst possible answer that he could have given. Insulted by his ill thought out response, Amy pushed him away and rolled her eyes. </p><p>“ Yeah right, if I was really looking to get back at him, I would have just smacked him with my hammer once and spared myself the psychological torment. I’m making sure the original Shadow doesn’t die on me, dummy,” she said, flicking his nose.     </p><p>The answer didn’t sit well with him. A sliver of irritation made its way to the surface as he narrowed his eyes. If there was one thing he’d learned from his other self, it was that he didn’t appreciate being tricked. </p><p>“By locking him away forever against his will,” he said dryly, rubbing his nose. The act made her uncomfortable for some odd reason, but he blinked, and she was back to being indignant.  </p><p>Amy put her hands on her hips and eyed him skeptically. “You think I trapped him in the incubator on purpose?”</p><p>“I know you did,” Shadow said, continuing to glare at her as he leaned forward and closed the gap between them, daring her to disagree. </p><p>Adorably red in the face, she scoffed, puffing up her cheeks childishly as her ears subtly shifted back. He felt his resolve waver, but didn’t let it show. He wouldn’t back down this time.</p><p>“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I asked his permission and everything. I didn’t force him to do anything he didn’t want to do,” she insisted, getting more and more defensive. </p><p>“He was literally banging on the glass for you to let him out,” he said flatly. </p><p>Realizing what must have happened, she deflated. Brushing her quills away from her face, she looked past him, thinking of the best way to explain herself. </p><p>“You didn’t see the whole picture. We really did come to an agreement. Sure, he panicked and wanted out, but he’s a little claustrophobic if you hadn’t already noticed. Otherwise, he can leave whenever he wants.” </p><p>“Amy, I know how your illusions work. You can keep him there as long as you want, and he’ll never realize it’s not real unless you tip him off,” Shadow reasoned.</p><p>Calmer now, she summoned a tarot card to her hand. As she stared blankly at it, the dark energy around her spiked, and the card caught fire. Dreadfully curious, Shadow took a peek, only to find exactly what he expected.</p><p>“There’s a time limit. Assuming nothing goes wrong, I have two years to get strong enough to protect him before the incubation chamber releases him automatically,” Amy said, letting the ill omen turn to ash in her open palm before blowing it away to join the rest of the dust filled room.   </p><p>Shadow’s expression softened. She was putting in so much effort into saving someone who didn’t need saving. It should frustrate him but- A light fluttering sensation filled him suddenly. He had a good idea what possessed his counterpart to enter the damn incubation chamber in the first place. He took hold of her hands, wanting desperately to save her from herself.   </p><p>“Please, I beg of you, take care of yourself. The last thing Shadow would want is for you to risk your life for him. I’m sure if you asked Sonic he would- ” Another mistake, she ripped herself free of his grasp and cut him off. </p><p>“No, I’ll handle this on my own. Let’s go, we’ve kept the others waiting long enough,” Amy said, walking away from him without looking back, confident he would follow. </p><p>Shadow decided to stand his ground and remain exactly where he was, stubbornly crossing his arms as he glared at her retreating form. She was making a mistake, and he would make her see reason, even if that meant freeing his counterpart himself so he could do the job. It didn’t take long for her to notice his absence. With an exasperated sigh, she doubled back and waited for him by the doorway. When he didn’t immediately join her, she silently beckoned for him to come, smirking knowingly. As his programming kicked in, he struggled not to comply, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be near her. </p><p>“Rose, I-I can’t- I mean the ruby can’t-It’s not anything like-” He couldn’t seem to form coherent sentences anymore.</p><p>“It’s rude to keep a lady waiting, Shadow. Come on, I’ll race ya,” she said, winking at him before suddenly taking off and leaving him in the dust. </p><p>Shadow didn’t think twice. He chased after her, gliding along the dilapidated hallways with ease. In seconds, he caught sight of her turning the corner, giggling tauntingly. Instinctively, he sped up, anticipating the end of his pursuit, but the next hallway was empty and so was the one after that. Getting frustrated, he cheated a little, honing in on the Phantom Ruby’s signature to get a better idea of where to go. He narrowed his eyes, puzzled. Behind him? He turned around just in time to get tackled to the ground. </p><p>“Gotcha,” she teased. </p><p>Shadow rolled his eyes. She really could be such a child sometimes. </p><p>“You weren’t it,” he muttered although he couldn’t say he minded how the game turned out.</p><p>“I know, but this way, I can do this,” she said as they disappeared in a flash and reappeared in front of the curious Gamma and the already jealous Metal, lovely.</p><p>Shadow simply laid there in defeat as Amy hastily got up, a lot less bold now that she was under the scrutiny of Metal's indecipherable gaze.  </p><p>“Hey Metal,” she said, giving him a sheepish grin.</p><p>All the robot had to do was stand there, arms crossed, for her to silently shake. Her eyes traveled to his tapping foot, again uncomfortable for reasons beyond him.</p><p>“You’re late,” he said in a perfectly polite passive tone, and yet Rose stood a little straighter, strangely guilty as if she’d been caught doing something wrong. It was kind of fascinating. </p><p>“Y-yeah, the meeting with Eggman ran a little long,” she said, faltering slightly.  </p><p>“I’ll bet,” Metal  said, subtly turning his gaze to him. He didn’t give him the satisfaction of reacting, perfectly comfortable on the cold metal floor. </p><p>“W-we were just-I wasn’t actually trying to- N-Nothing happened,” she stammered, getting flustered. Shadow smirked, amused she was taking the situation so seriously. </p><p>Metal wasn’t Sonic. He was a petulant child who didn’t want his favorite person paying attention to anyone else. Then again, if his AI really was based on Sonic, he knew the exact thing that would shut him up. Before he could act on the impulse, Gamma obstructed his view. </p><p>Inclining his head, the robot bent down to better scan him. </p><p>“Are you in need of assistance?” he asked.</p><p>Shadow rolled his eyes, letting a small smile slip past his indifferent mask. </p><p>“No, Gamma it’s just been a rough morning. Leave me on the floor to sulk.”</p><p>The robot nodded and respectfully stepped aside, making Shadow frown. Why was he suddenly missing Omega? A robot he’d never met who would probably shoot him on sight for being an inferior copy of his partner. He shut his eyes, still deliberately tuning out the nonsense fight Amy was having with Metal. Right, Omega was just like the original Shadow, stubborn to a fault and fiercely independent. He wouldn’t have given up. And Gamma was just like him, loyal to a fault and ready to follow every order given to him. A reminder that he wasn’t truly free and didn’t want to be. Still, of his current choice of companions, he’d gladly take Gamma’s company over Metal’s.</p><p>Rose let out an exasperated sigh, catching his attention. Metal had a talent for getting on her last nerve, but he hadn’t expected her to get worn out this quickly. </p><p>“Your little rebellious streak is getting old. Stop giving me the third degree and take your present already,” Amy said, tossing Metal the deep blue emerald.</p><p>Metal chirped in surprise barely catching the gem with the tip of his clawed fingers. His eyes glowed brightly in appreciation, and he excitedly let out a series of metallic tremors that had Rose stifling a giggle. He brought the emerald close to his muzzle, greedily inspecting every inch of its surface, not realizing she hadn’t given him the real thing. Rose frowned, coming to the same conclusion.</p><p>“It’s not a real emerald, but the gem’s limited energy will help sustain you in battle,” she explained, maintaining a calm mask as she waited for Metal’s reaction.</p><p>The spark of excitement left his eyes, and once again, the robot’s resentment made itself apparent as he pointed an accusing finger in his direction. </p><p>“Why does he get a real one?” Metal Sonic asked.  </p><p>Shadow wanted to laugh but stopped himself for Rose’s sake. She sighed, losing yet another precious piece of her previously unshakable faith as she accepted defeat and turned her back on him.  </p><p>“You’ll never be satisfied, will you?”</p><p>Metal was speechless, and if it hadn’t been at the cost of Rose’s quickly eroding idealism, he might have felt a sense of schadenfreude now that the robot was finally getting what he deserved. As things stood, Rose was losing her sense of self, and she needed every scrap of hope she could get.</p><p>“If you care about her, apologize and thank her for treating you as more than the glorified canon fodder you are.” The words were harsh, a reflection of his new programming, but he didn’t entirely disagree with the sentiment. </p><p> “My current objective is to keep her safe, nothing more. Her reliance on you is frustrating. I don’t understand why she keeps giving you all her resources. Your track record is less than impressive,” Metal stated tonelessly. </p><p>Shadow hated how he flinched. Metal chuckled darkly, and the emerald in his hand shone with malicious brilliance.</p><p>“So, you agree?”  </p><p>Shadow refused to dignify that with a response. He shifted his attention to Rose who now had a little pink bird on her shoulder. Odd, but he didn’t linger on it long, vaguely remembering that all E series robots were powered by small animals. He wondered if Omega was as well. The original Shadow had never been one to pry, but he would definitely ask him next time they met if fate did not pit them against each other as it was wont to do. </p><p>Rose had successfully inserted the yellow emerald into Gamma’s power source and was in the middle of closing the hexagonal capsule.   </p><p>“There, that should keep you running even if Sonic manages to get a few hits in. How are you feeling? Hopefully not evil?” she asked, looking up at the robot.</p><p>Gamma did a cursory check of his various functions. They were running at optimum capacity, and his processing power had quadrupled with the aid of his new power source. He considered the questions presented to him. He had a basic understanding of what the word feeling entailed but was unsure of what evil was.</p><p>“I am running as expected, but I have no set parameters for what evil is. Results inconclusive,” Gamma announced. </p><p>Amy Rose giggled, a sign that he had answered well. She then proceeded to hum, stroking her chin as she thought up her own response.    </p><p>“Do you want to hurt any of us?”</p><p>Gamma went through his current objectives. The temporary ceasefire was still in effect, and outside of continuing his friendship with Amy Rose, he was simply gathering data on his other teammates to better aid them in battle with one notable exception. </p><p>“No, but I am still programmed to destroy Metal Sonic should harm come to the original. Would you like to rescind this order?”</p><p>Miss Amy’s breath quickened as she locked eyes with Metal Sonic. He zipped between them before Gamma could even raise his gun. </p><p>“You would trust this outdated robot to finish me. I’m insulted,” Metal Sonic said, casually scraping his long claws against Gamma’s shiny metal frame. He did not retaliate. For now, Metal Sonic was still listed as one of his friends. </p><p>The moment Metal Sonic touched his exterior Shadow rushed to his aid, but Miss Amy raised her hand, and he stopped in his tracks.  </p><p>“Gamma’s stronger than he looks,” she reasoned, still maintaining a calm mask despite her wildly palpitating heart and steadily increasing blood pressure. His overly belligerent teammate was not fooled by this, having access to the same physiological data he did.</p><p>“He’s a liability.” Metal Sonic said, digging his razor sharp claws into the protective metal covering his central processing unit, careful not to damage him any more than necessary. </p><p>Gamma recognized this tactic. He was attempting to intimidate his friend by making an example of him. This was something Eggman would do, and according to his data, the doctor had consistently proven himself to be a selfish person who hurt others. None of his peers liked the man. No one considered him a friend, and Miss Amy was only working with him out of necessity. His eyes shined as he made the connection. Metal was exactly like his creator, a person to be tolerated until he was no longer useful to the group. He silently waited for his friend to react. Gamma would not strike until Amy Rose wished it.   </p><p>There was a subtle change to Miss Amy's demeanor. Her initial panic transformed into barely filtered rage as she fought to control her rapidly rising body temperature, a sure sign she was about to use Shadow’s signature Chaos Blast technique. An ill advised move that would damage her core and everything around her if she could not reign in her anger.  </p><p>“Excuse me? He’s not the one attacking his teammates for no reason,” she hissed. </p><p>“If he cannot defeat me, he will be no match for Sonic. We are better off without him,” he countered, delving deeper into his circuits. His screen began to flicker, and his audio processors were barely able to decipher what was happening between the static. </p><p>There was a strong possibility he would not survive this friendship. The pink bird that had once served as his primary energy source came to his rescue, ineffectively pecking at Metal Sonic’s head. He didn’t understand why. </p><p>“You are free. Why are you trying to save that which is useless to you?”  </p><p>The pink bird chirped angrily at him a few times, trying to explain itself. Unfortunately, he had no way to properly communicate with the small creature. Miss Amy begged the little bird to come back to safety. Growing annoyed, Metal Sonic half heartedly swiped at the bird before Shadow appeared without warning and ripped his hand away from Gamma’s exposed central processing unit. </p><p>“Keep your hands to yourself or next time, you don’t get to keep your hands,” Shadow warned him, releasing the robot’s malfunctioning arm after confiscating the emerald held within its grasp.  </p><p>Metal Sonic wisely backed away, cradling his sparking arm. His attention was no longer on Gamma, seeing Shadow as the bigger threat. </p><p>“You should have listened to the girl and stayed out of this fight. Eggman was right. A weapon shouldn't have a heart. Forget your pitiful act of mercy, step aside, and allow me to do my job, or Sonic will exploit that bumbling robot’s lack of speed, and you will lose her. ”</p><p>Shadow said nothing. As always, he shifted his gaze to Miss Amy and deferred to her judgement. She sighed, walking over to Gamma, expression unreadable as she examined the damage that had been done to him.  </p><p>“Gamma, Metal intends to destroy you. Is that something a friend would do?” Miss Amy asked tiredly. </p><p>Gamma’s remaining sensors locked onto Metal’s retreating form. That was all the permission he needed. The gem powering his core shone with untapped power. He focused his efforts on charging his second most devastating weapon, especially designed to combat the doctor’s toys. </p><p>“No, friends do not fight friends,” Gamma concluded. </p><p>Metal scoffed, pausing in his retreat. “I never considered you a friend.”</p><p>“Then, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, Metal. Neutralize him. I need to make a few updates to his code,” she said without any real feeling, literally turning her back on him.</p><p>Curiously, this actually seemed to unnerve him. He counterintuitively attempted to follow her. </p><p>“As if he can-” Metal Sonic argued. </p><p>“Activating EMP,” Gamma announced. </p><p>“No! I’ll finish you first,” Metal Sonic shouted, lunging at him. </p><p>Shadow easily dashed in front of him and tackled Metal Sonic to the ground, pinning him there. Normally, his teammates were evenly matched, but the enraged robot struggled to get out of Shadow’s grip with only one functioning arm, allowing the EMP enough time to take effect. </p><p>The large electromagnetic wave crippled the hideout’s electrical grid, leaving the team standing alone in the dark with only the faint iridescent glow of Gamma’s eyes to offer any source of light. Shadow held Metal Sonic’s lifeless body in his hands, outwardly composed while internally he was still full of adrenaline and ready for another fight. He jumped when Miss Amy placed a hand on his shoulder. </p><p>“You were right. He’s not going to change. No one really changes, not for the better anyway,” she said, smiling despite her sadness. </p><p>“Rose, I-Please don’t give up on humanity because this particular robot is a one note jerk,” he pleaded. </p><p>Miss Amy laughed, clapping her hands together. The lights in the immediate area sprung to life, and she used the dark energies surrounding her to conjure a pale lavender rose to her hand.</p><p>“I haven’t given up on anything,” she said, inhaling the sweet scent before allowing the rose to break apart into nothing. </p><p>“Hand him over. I can take it from here,” Miss Amy said, giving Shadow a smile that was likely meant to be reassuring. He did not immediately obey as was typical of him, showing signs of unease. </p><p>“Are you sure? If he was willing to attack Gamma without any real provocation, surely, it’s a bad idea to-” Miss Amy put a finger on his lips silencing him. </p><p>“If I was put in a vulnerable position, do you think Gamma would attack me?” she asked suddenly.</p><p>Shadow shook his head, looking puzzled. Gamma also wasn’t following her reasoning. Friends did not fight friends, but Metal had already proven that he did not view them as such. Why should he be trusted? Miss Amy’s gaze became serious as she asked her next question. </p><p>“Knowing what you know now, would you betray me if given the chance? No one would blame you. Sonic wouldn’t think twice about taking you in. He’d probably find your mannerisms cute,” Amy reasoned, making their teammate flustered.</p><p>“No, of course not, why would you even say that? I was made to-” he stopped mid sentence, eyes growing wide.</p><p>“All Sonic ever really wanted in the beginning was to protect me. I made this Metal to protect me no matter what. He couldn’t lay a finger on me if he tried,” she explained sadly.</p><p>“So, give him to me,” she said, hands outstretched expectantly. </p><p>Shadow nodded, gently placing Metal Sonic into Amy’s awaiting hands. She turned around ready to leave when he dashed in front of her, uncharacteristically nervous.</p><p>“I know it’s not real to you, but I really do-” Miss Amy kissed him on the cheek, leaving him red and speechless.  </p><p>“Who says it's not real to me? I simply refuse to take advantage of feelings you have no control over, or you’d give Sonic a run for his money,” she said coyly, walking past him as he stood there in stunned silence.</p><p>“Fix Gamma for me, would you? It shouldn’t be too hard for someone with your skillset. Anything you can’t repair yourself, the Chaos Emerald should be able to fix,” she offered helpfully, leaving the two of them to their own devices. </p><p>It took another fifteen seconds before Shadow came to his senses and left to find a repair kit. He successfully returned with the desired tools a few minutes later, no longer as expressive as he was when Amy Rose was in the immediate vicinity. Thankfully, Miss Amy’s assessment of Shadow’s mechanical skills proved to be correct, and he was able to navigate Gamma’s complicated wiring and circuitry with little issue. When he asked how Shadow had learned so much about repairing robots, Shadow let him know that he was extremely familiar with his particular model because he used to do maintenance on a friend of his.  </p><p>“Are we friends?” Gamma asked. He’d learned to not take this information for granted and would adjust his behaviour around Shadow accordingly depending on his answer. </p><p>Shadow remained silent for a long stretch of time, and Gamma was starting to doubt the hedgehog had even heard the question in the first place. Before he could repeat the question, his teammate finally answered.</p><p><br/>“Yes, at first, this was simply because Amy cares for you greatly, and I felt obligated to protect you as I would anything else she cared for, but I do genuinely enjoy your company. I will not allow harm to come to you again,” he vowed, slowly but surely repairing the damage Metal Sonic had done to his interior. </p><p>Gamma nodded, finding evidence that this was indeed the case. He would not have defied a direct order otherwise.    </p><p>“Why is Amy friends with Metal Sonic? I was led to believe that friendships should be mutually beneficial, but all he seems to do is cause her great pain, regardless of his reluctance to harm her, ” Gamma asked, recognizing his friend currently had a better grasp of Miss Amy’s psychological profile than he did. </p><p>Again, Shadow did not answer right away, pausing briefly to add the confiscated emerald into the hexagonal chamber. The effect was instantaneous as his systems latched onto this second source of power and used it to repair what Shadow could not.   </p><p>“Sometimes it’s hard to let go of the people who once brought you comfort. You’ll cling to anyone who reminds you of them even if it’s antithetical to your growth,” Shadow replied smoothly, watching in amazement as the torn metal meshed together and healed itself within a couple of seconds. </p><p>“I see. Do you speak from experience?” Gamma asked conversationally. </p><p>Shadow’s ears bent back slightly, a subtle sign of distress. </p><p>“No, I would never replace a person I cared for with someone else,” he said stiffly, turning away from Gamma now that his job was done. </p><p>The pink bird landed on Gamma’s shoulder. He did not mind the intrusion. The small creature had more than earned his loyalty. </p><p>“Is that what Amy is doing?” </p><p>A silence different from before loomed over them. Eventually, Shadow nodded reluctantly. </p><p>Gamma pressed on, wanting to ask one last question before his friend went on a well deserved run. Already, he was positioning his body to take off, and if he missed his chance, Shadow was unlikely to turn back and answer.    </p><p>“Then, will she someday have to let us go?”</p><p>Shadow took off without a word the instant the question was uttered. Gamma watched him go and decided for the sake of their budding friendship that Shadow had simply not heard him. After a few seconds of self reflection, Gamma left the empty room and went to train. For now, he was still needed, and he would not let Amy Rose down. </p><hr/><p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter: </p><p>Amy's POV when she's comforting Illusion Shadow: Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars </p><p>Illusion Shadow's POV:</p><p>Can't Help Falling in Love cover - Dark Version ft. Brooke (I prefer this version but there is one with male vocals in this style.) </p><p>Majestic- Short Version by Wax Fang </p><p>Nothing is at it seems by Hidden Citizens ft. Ruelle</p><p>Honorable mention: Can't smile without you by Barry Manilow</p><p>Notes: Lots of references to different things in Sonic cannon this time. This has been done since early May, but there were some developments and structural things I wasn't sure about until I wrote part of Modern Sonic's segment. Metal being an angry boy whose a lot less patient than he thinks he is kind of put a wrench in things. Anyway, Eggman being emotionally devastating ended up making this primarily Illusion Shadow's chapter, but uh, keep in mind that some of the things we hear about original Shadow are coming from Eggman. If you asked Shadow or Rouge, you'd get a wildly different but technically similar answer. Also, Classic Sonic doesn't really understand Amy and Sonic's current relationship and completely misunderstood Sonic's deal and made him look bad. XD</p><p>Until next time! Hoping to have the next chapter posted by the end of next week assuming no major rewrites end up being necessary.   </p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Rejected Reality</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong> <em>Rejected Reality</em> </strong>
</h3><p>
  <em> Joke Summary: In which the only person who can get on Sonic’s nerves is Sonic, metal or otherwise</em>
</p><hr/><p>To say Sonic was struggling was an understatement. Sure, he’d faced adversity before, but it was one thing for your long time enemy to occasionally best you and quite another for one of your best friends to completely give up on you and disappear off the face of Mobius. He should be out there looking for her, but after his last encounter with Amy, he knew Tails wouldn’t let him take off on his own. Even if it would be faster, he grumbled, not so much annoyed at the fox but at himself or at least, the version of himself that had suspiciously appeared out of nowhere right when all of his old enemies had popped up. </p><p>If his story hadn’t checked out, he would have made more of a fuss about him sticking around, but as things stood, the ruby had indeed come from another dimension, and he supposed teaching his past self a few new tricks could have possibly split the timeline, maybe. </p><p>And yet, something about the little hoglet still didn’t quite hold up to scrutiny. Yeah, he liked flowers, but he didn’t remember liking them enough to drop everything he was doing to literally stop and smell the roses. And sure, on a good day, an eleven year old version of himself could admit that little Rosy was at least kind of cute, but this one was weirdly open about it. To the point that Sonic was convinced that the kid wasn’t him.     </p><p>Argh, why did the little guy have to run off again without telling anyone. Who did he think he was, Sonic? He smirked a little at his own joke, still pacing back and forth at inhuman speeds as his brain scrambled to fit the odd bits of information that they’d learned about the ruby into something he could actually use.</p><p>Her copies were super tough especially when they bombarded Sonic all at once, but thankfully, they weren’t made to last long. All he really needed to do was get enough hits in to bring them down. Good, he could work with that. He frowned, considering what else that implied.    </p><p> If Zavok and Metal were fakes, did he even talk to the real Amy? When he heard her scream his name out of nowhere, he thought he was going insane until the little guy heard it too. Yeah, it was probably a trap, but he was starting to regret not immediately looking for her. Days had passed, and there was still no sign of her anywhere.</p><p>“Sonic, you’re melting the reinforced steel floor again. Wanna talk buddy?” Tails asked, stifling a yawn. Neither of them had gotten much sleep since Amy turned to the dark side.</p><p>His frown deepened, noticing the bags under his eyes. Teenagers were supposed to sleep more right? Not that he’d been super great about that at his age, but he’d at least known he was supposed to. Tails seemed to view sleep as an option rather than a necessity.    </p><p>“Nah, I’m good, just waiting for the other me to get here. Isn’t it kind of suspicious that he never seems to find anything unless he’s on his own? And that the bases he does find always seem to be decoys?” he asked dryly, letting some of his irritation with his new partner slip through. </p><p>Tails gave Sonic an unimpressed look that told him he hadn’t been anywhere near subtle enough. Usually, he appreciated his little bro sticking by him no matter what, but when the kid was involved, it was an obvious blindspot that was starting to aggravate him. </p><p>“Maybe, if you weren’t constantly breathing down his neck, he wouldn’t feel the need to take off on his own so much. Cut the kid some slack. He’s doing his best, same as you. Eggman’s bringing his A game this time. That’s all,” Tail said with an air of finality. </p><p>Sonic noted his little brother’s pricked ears and raised tails and decided to drop the subject. He figured now was probably the best time to ask if Tails had found anything new on the ruby, not that he had much hope. Last time, he’d rambled on about some local legends concerning some goddess that seemed to match Amy’s description always appearing right before a disaster was about to strike. He’d gone on to say that the ancient texts were unclear on whether she caused the disasters or if she was some Cassandra like figure there to warn others of their impending doom.</p><p> Amy, the time traveling goddess, yeah right, as if she’d bother with that nonsense, the girl he knew wouldn’t hurt fly. Besides, a mobian needed two Chaos Emeralds to time travel, and she only had one. Of course, he couldn’t remember for the life of him where he learned that. Shadow maybe? He felt a headache coming on and decided to stop thinking about it.   </p><p>Sonic was having enough trouble processing Amy’s situation without bringing Shadow into the picture. That would only flood his mind with a whole different set of feelings he didn’t want to deal with.  </p><p>“Hello, Mobius to Sonic, we need you to come back to us, buddy,” Tails said, waving his hand in front of his face. </p><p>He blinked. Geez, had he really spaced out for that long? Sonic was practically turning into a whole other hedgehog, and he didn’t like it. The sooner they found Amy. The sooner he could go back to letting life roll off his back.    </p><p>“What are we going to tell Cream?” Tails asked out of nowhere. </p><p>Huh? He could safely say that the little cream rabbit was the last thing on his mind.</p><p>“About what?” he asked, sticking his finger in his ear so he could clean out the random gunk, mentally checked out of the conversation. </p><p>Cream was a nice, polite girl, but he had a lot on his plate right now, and she was the least likely of his assortment of friends to get into any kind of serious trouble. She was safe at home with her mamma and even had Gemerl hanging around to help her out if anything did come up.  </p><p>“Her birthday party is in a few days, and we can’t even find Amy, let alone convince her to abandon her sudden turn to villany. I hate to say it, but we have to tell her she’s not coming this year,” Tails said in a way that told him that he’d already made up his mind but felt the need to get his permission first. </p><p>Since Amy had worn a mask in public while making a mess of City Park Avenue and hadn’t revealed herself to anyone but him, the only people who actually knew what was going on with Amy at the moment were Knuckles, Tails, and himself. He wasn’t keen on breaking the poor innocent rabbit’s heart just yet. </p><p>“No, I’ll find Amy, and everything will be back to normal in no time. Cream doesn’t have to worry about a thing,” Sonic reassured him, mostly confident he could deliver on that promise.   </p><p>Tails was less than convinced, visibly losing confidence before his eyes. Ears lowered, he stopped looking at Sonic and started absently fiddling with his communicator, likely thinking of all the little messages Amy had left him after her botched mission that had turned out to be little more than empty reassurances. </p><p>“Sonic, Amy’s house was completely cleaned out and abandoned. That’s not something Eggman would have bothered to do. There’s a good chance that Amy’s not brainwashed or locked up against her will. I think she really did join him,” Tails said, mustering up the courage to look him in the eyes by the end of his confession. </p><p>Sonic scowled, stubbornly crossing his arms in protest. He already knew that Tails was probably right, but he wasn’t ready to believe it, not when there was another perfectly good explanation they hadn’t ruled out yet.  </p><p>“Nope, don’t buy it. Something’s up. Shadow’s eyes were-” he started to say when Tails patiently cut him off and gently reminded him that he had no real evidence to back up his theory. </p><p>“Yeah, I know. I’m not arguing that point. I’m talking about Amy.”</p><p>"I’m just saying if Shadow was possessed then maybe-” </p><p>The pitying look Tails gave him was too much. He instantly shut his trap. If the smartest person he knew thought Amy was doing all of this of her own volition, maybe he was right. </p><p>“Nevermind, did you find anything new about the Phantom Ruby? ” he asked, desperate to change the subject, even if he had to hear even more silly legends about ancient mumbo jumbo that had nothing to do with what was happening in the present.</p><p>He ignored the little voice in his head that reminded him that the past always found a way to haunt the present, no matter what a person did to obscure the truth.     </p><p>Tails perked up, happily swinging his chair around to show him what he found while researching on his desktop. Sonic was discouraged when he saw the number of opened tabs on his brother’s browser. He might be stuck here a while. </p><p>“Not anything we didn’t already know, but it’s kind of fascinating seeing Amy become the local people's boogeyman,” Tails said, weirdly enthusiastic about their friend possibly becoming a destructive god.  </p><p>“Tails, I don’t want to hear about this,” he groaned.</p><p>For his own sanity, he refused to believe that their friend was wreaking havoc in the past. </p><p>“Oh come on, anthropology is cool. Here’s something you might find interesting. It is said she strongly favors those bearing green eyes so much so that anthropologist theorize that one of her duties is to look after the children of Chaos,” Tails said, clicking on a link that showed a recent depiction of Not-Amy watching over a little blue hedgehog that had an uncanny resemblance to him.</p><p>Sonic huffed, still not a hundred percent convinced that Amy was this disaster causing goddess. Even so, he couldn’t stop a twinge of resentment from bubbling to the surface anyway.  </p><p>“Not feeling super looked after, right now,” he muttered.</p><p>Tails smirked knowingly, and he grimaced, embarrassed he’d heard that. </p><p>“Any leads on where she might be?” he asked.</p><p>Thankfully, Tails didn’t suggest the obvious, because he was already fighting the urge to knick another Chaos Emerald from someplace and go on a time traveling adventure. </p><p>“Not exactly, there was a power outage five hundred miles from here on the outskirts of Eggman’s territory a few days ago that my monitors caught if you want to check it out. Could be Eggman’s finally up to something besides messing with you,” Tails said dryly, pulling up a map with a tiny insignificant section of Eggman’s so-called empire circled.</p><p>Sonic flicked his ears back and forth, debating whether he wanted to go through the trouble of scouting the place or not. They hadn’t bothered to check it out yet because the place was ancient and seemingly abandoned now that most of the resources in the area had been used up. Then again, it wasn’t like they had any better leads to chase right now. </p><p>“Might be worth a look. I’ll take the little guy with me if he ever shows up,” he said, glaring at the unassuming workshop door. It flung open and the other Sonic somersaulted inside triumphantly blowing a party horn.</p><p>“Okay, you can’t be mad at him after that. He’s too pure,” Tails insisted, clapping enthusiastically as the little doppelganger took a bow. </p><p>Sonic grumbled unintelligibly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Tails just didn’t understand. That wasn’t a random bout of quirkiness. The blue devil had planned that little stunt to distract them from his suspicious behaviour, and Sonic wasn’t falling for it. He’d invented that trick. </p><p>“You’re late,” he said with narrowed eyes, arms crossed again as he tapped his foot impatiently.</p><p>The little guy immediately picked up on his bad mood but easily ignored it. He shrugged and quickly signed his response.</p><p>Sorry, I traveled very far this time.  </p><p>“Did you find anything useful?” Sonic asked tiredly.  </p><p>He nodded eagerly, signing faster than Sonic was used to in a rush to get it all out. </p><p>I found Eggman’s stronghold. He must be planning something big. There were a lot of robots protecting it, and he even had Amy guarding the outside perimeter.</p><p>That caught his attention. Maybe, the other him really had been suffering a string of bad luck before now. He didn’t think twice. They were busting up whatever big plans the doctor had in store for them. </p><p>“Good job, buddy. I can’t believe you managed to find Eggman’s base all by yourself. You leave Rosy to me okay, and we’ll get her back in no time,” he promised, giving his mini me a small pat on the head. </p><p>The other Sonic’s expression became suspicious.</p><p>How? You are not strong enough. He signed, one ear up and one ear bent in curiosity. </p><p>Sonic smirked, so blunt. Maybe, he’d been too quick to judge him. They were a lot more alike than he’d been giving him credit for.  </p><p>My little secret. He signed, subtly letting him know that his lips were literally sealed. </p><p>The other Sonic immediately turned to Tails who made a zipped lips gesture before giving him an apologetic look. If there was one thing they agreed on, it was that Amy’s rescue took priority over everything else, even if his buddy was starting to have doubts on whether she even wanted to be rescued in the first place.     </p><p>The little guy huffed and signed two words before turning his back on the fox. </p><p>Fine. Whatever. </p><p>Tails simply rolled his eyes and gestured to Sonic as if to say, Still think he’s a fake? </p><p>Sonic shrugged noncommittally. Maybe, he was. Maybe, he wasn’t. He’d continue giving him the benefit of the doubt for now. After all, if he couldn’t trust himself, who could he trust? </p><p>“Contact Knuckles. Tell him it's time,” Sonic said, keeping his words nice and vague.</p><p>“On it,” Tails said, sending a quick message to Knuckles on his communicator. He then left his chair and walked over to his pouting doppelganger, hands on his knees as he bent down to meet him at eye level.</p><p>“I’m going to need the coordinates to Eggman’s fortress so we can meet up with you guys once we have everything ready. Keep a low profile until then and get us as much intel as you can,” Tails said, giving him instructions as if he hadn’t hurt the tiny hedgehog’s pride.</p><p>The little guy nodded, reluctantly handing him a small note containing the coordinates. Tails put a hand on his shoulder, an appreciative grin on his face. </p><p>“Thanks kid, I’m counting on you to look after Sonic for me. Think you can handle it?” Tail asked, effortlessly pulling off the cool older brother persona Sonic had spent years cultivating. </p><p>It worked like a charm. The tiniest scrap of approval and his counterpart was willing to do anything for Tails. Sonic furrowed his brows at the realization. Was that just part of the older-younger sibling dynamic that he’d failed to notice? Or was something actually off?</p><p>No problem. I got this. He signed, chalk full of confidence as he gave Tails a parting salute.  </p><p>Annoyingly, the little brat gestured for him to follow his lead, already getting an inflated ego. He silently asked him to wait up and his mini me obliged, impatiently tapping his foot. </p><p>“Got a map for me? I don’t fancy going in blind after the last couple of times,” Sonic asked, keeping his tone light. Tails still picked up on the obvious undercurrent of distrust hidden in the words but didn’t comment on it. Asking for a map was sensible and he wouldn’t fault him for it. </p><p>“Two steps ahead of you, here,” Tails said, handing him a freshly printed map.  </p><p>“Thanks Tails, I’ll keep you posted,” Sonic said, mimicking the other Sonic’s quick salute as he prepared to take off. Tails put a hand on his shoulder, expression serious.   </p><p>“Be careful, and please don’t draw attention to yourself before we get there, no matter what you see. We only get one shot at this.” </p><p>Sonic rolled his eyes, knowing exactly why he was getting a talking to. Did Tails really think he’d impulsively ruin their rescue attempt just because he kicked a stupid conch one time?</p><p>“I know. I don’t want you taking any unnecessary risks either. I don’t care how crazy prepared you are, leave Amy to me,” Sonic said.</p><p>Tails opened his mouth to protest but Sonic cut him off. </p><p>“We’re sticking to the plan like you said. I know you’re worried about her, but talking didn’t work.”</p><p>“Yeah, with you maybe, but-” Tails stopped himself when he saw the brief look of hurt in Sonic’s expression. </p><p>“She’s not herself. Once we get that gem off her, everything will go back to the way it was. You’ll see, ” Sonic insisted.</p><p>Again, Sonic saw the doubt in Tail’s eyes but pretended to be oblivious to it. He winked, and zipped past his awaiting double, more than ready to topple Eggman’s pitiful empire. He called out to Tails as he left, if only to assure him that he was still the same upbeat hedgehog he’d met all those years ago .  </p><p>“Catch you on the flipside lil bro. ”</p><p>In less than thirty seconds, the other Sonic was on his heels, annoyed that he’d been left behind. Sonic gave him a cheeky grin and sped up, silently challenging the little fella. He blasted ahead of Sonic, stopping briefly by the bridge to stick his tongue out at him before taking off again.</p><p>Amused and looking to blow off some steam before the big rescue, Sonic gave him a five second head start. Then, he tore through Green Hill, taking advantage of every loop and shortcut available to him. He caught up in no time and the look on his double’s face was priceless. To inexperienced eyes, he might as well have appeared from nowhere.    </p><p>And yeah, he could have achieved the same effect with the green Chaos Emerald hidden in his quills, but what was the fun in that?  </p><p>They stayed neck and neck for a while, but eventually, they reached the edge of Eggman’s territory, and Sonic had to put his foot down. He skidded to a halt and his younger self did the same a half a second later, tilting his head curiously. </p><p>“Not bad kid, you almost won that one, but we gotta be more careful here. Stealth mission and all,” Sonic said, rubbing his nose while still grinning like a mad hog.</p><p>The other Sonic nodded, only slightly miffed that he’d lost to his older self. He turned his attention to the dull grey expanse ahead of them, searching for danger. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of interest in this particular section of Eggman’s territory. The old man hadn’t even bothered to leave a couple of Eggpawns guarding the perimeter. </p><p>“Doesn’t look like we’ll run into trouble for a while, but it’s still not a good idea to leave ourselves exposed like this. We’ll take cover in the doctor’s old factories as much as we can until we get to Eggman’s fortress. Just follow my lead and-” He finally noticed the other Sonic was but a spec in the distance. </p><p>“We’ll be fine,” Sonic muttered, taking out the green Chaos Emerald. </p><p>Sometimes it was better to cheat. </p><p>Without much conscious effort, Sonic felt the Chaos Energy circle around him eagerly as if he were a specialized conductor made to channel the stuff which probably wasn’t too far from the truth, now that he thought about it for more than two seconds. He shook his head, knowing where such thoughts would lead him. He whispered the words, mapping out his destination visually as best he could. </p><p>“Chaos Control.”</p><p>Sonic grinned when he appeared a few feet in front of the impatient twerp. The practice had paid off. He easily tripped him before the little dude knew what hit him and his mini me face-planted into the ground. Sonic winced in sympathy. He was going to have to get used to that.</p><p>Sonic walked over and nudged him a little. The kid raised his head and shot him a dirty look that was mostly deserved. He didn’t have the patience for kids that Shadow had. </p><p>Shadow . . . Nope not thinking about that guy. Focus on saving Amy, but definitely don’t think about the fact she doesn’t believe in you anymore. No, no, no,  Bad brain! Stop right there or I’ll let my poor impulse control take over.</p><p>He took a deep breath and shoved those thoughts into the back of his mind. This kid would ruin everything if he didn’t set him straight.  </p><p>“Yo Flash, what part of, keep a low profile didn’t you understand? You can’t keep dashing ahead like you’re . . . me. ”    </p><p>Okay, there might have been some kind of karmic retribution at play here. The universe had to be laughing at him. Turns out, the only other person who could get on Sonic’s nerves was Sonic. Maybe, it wouldn’t kill him to consider other people’s feelings once in a while, even if he still didn’t know what Amy actually wanted from him.</p><p>The other Sonic dusted himself off and walked; that’s right, walked vaguely towards the west. Yeah, he’d cheesed the little guy off. </p><p>“You can run, just make sure you take cover and avoid the conspicuously absent robots,” Sonic said, adding the last bit as a joke. His younger self was not amused and simply side eyed him, deliberately shuffling along at a ridiculously slow pace to spite him. </p><p>“Fine. If you’re not going to run, I might as well carry you,” he said, deciding this was a fair compromise in that neither party would be happy with the arrangement.</p><p>The little guy’s quills bristled, and he ran off at lightning speeds. Geez, he didn’t remember ever running that fast unless Amy was right behind him. He sighed, feeling somewhat insulted. So this was what it was like to be constantly left in the dust, huh? Definitely not fun but at least, he had the luxury of catching up whenever he wanted. Sonic tossed the Chaos Emerald up and down, wondering if he should give the kid some space. </p><p>The other Sonic was nearly out of sight when he unexpectedly stopped. Deciding that it was in his best interest for his younger self to not completely hate his guts, he took the opportunity to warp to his location and check on him. The other Sonic jumped, quills spiking up as if he’d just been electrified. </p><p>“Giving Tails an update?” Sonic asked, trying to recall if he’d always been such a fraidy cat as a kid or if this was a new unfortunate development.     </p><p>The kid nodded a little too quickly, but he chalked that up to nerves and didn’t think too hard about it. Sonic was determined to chat with him and clear the air. </p><p>“Sorry about what happened back there, that definitely wasn’t the best way to get you to slow down,” he apologized, rubbing the back of his head nervously. </p><p>The kid’s judgemental stare was getting to him. It reminded him of Amy for some reason.</p><p>Whatever, I don’t expect better from you. He signed, adding a dismissive wave for flair.</p><p>Sonic’s eye twitched. He was getting real tired of this brat.</p><p>“Excuse me? All week you’ve been nothing but a- ” A missile hit him from behind, and he didn’t get to finish the sentence which was probably for the best. </p><p>The kid instinctively smashed the robot before it could go for a second hit. </p><p>“Whew, talk about a one hit wonder, thanks little guy,” Sonic said, struggling to his feet as he gave the kid his most charming smile. Maybe, his relationship with his younger self was still salvageable. </p><p>The other Sonic rolled his eyes, practically giving him the cold shoulder.</p><p>For Tails. He quickly signed, even less talkative than before. Ouch.   </p><p>They suddenly got swarmed with robots, and Sonic gave up on the conversation. So, what if his younger self hated him? It didn’t mean anything. He was still worth caring about, even if Amy didn’t think so anymore.  </p><p>Honestly, the robots were a welcome distraction. </p><p>By some miracle, the influx of bots hadn’t given away their location, and the kid reluctantly followed his advice, sticking to him like glue now that there was actual danger. Sonic rolled his eyes, a little annoyed he was taking Tails' order to keep an eye on him so seriously. He didn’t need an actual child to babysit him. Whatever, Sonic didn’t mind humoring the little guy. If the kid wanted to take out most of the Doc’s robots for him, that was his business. </p><p>More and more of Eggman’s mechanical army showed up as they made their way through his territory, and Sonic was starting to second guess his assumption that they hadn’t been spotted by the big man himself. He dismissed the idea instantly. It wasn’t like Egghead to miss an opportunity to rag on him. If their cover really was blown, his loud obnoxious voice would be blaring through his mechs’ speakers at the very least. </p><p>At first, the robots' uncanny ability to find them no matter where they were wasn’t too much of an issue as most of them were older models that had obviously been around a while, but as they traveled further into Eggman’s territory, they had gotten noticeably tougher, forcing Sonic to step in and stop the kid from running himself ragged. He used the Chaos Emerald’s power as much as he could to conserve energy and end fights in a snap, but even with the added boost, he found himself getting winded too. </p><p>Finally, after several repetitive mind numbing fights, they reached the outskirts of Eggman’s Fortress. He frowned, slowly realizing how difficult it would be to sneak in without being detected. There was no cover to speak of, only a barren wasteland, crawling with robots and airships. The large imperial tower stood in the middle of a huge gaping crater that was probably filled with all sorts of nasty surprises. Then again, if what the kid said was true, Amy wasn’t helplessly locked in the tower but actively protecting it. </p><p>Where did you see her? He signed, in a conscious effort to not draw the attention of Eggman’s robot army. His eyes darted every which way trying to spot a speck of pink in the mass of grey and red.  </p><p>The kid glared at him, annoyingly suspicious. </p><p>Wait for Tails. He ordered, scanning the sky. </p><p>Sonic did the same, remembering that Amy had taken to using Metal as an easy form of transportation. His eyes widened as he spotted the robot heading straight for them at an alarming rate. He yanked the little guy out of the way before the jet powered Metal could snatch him him up. Metal snapped his fingers in disappointment as he hovered above them casually. </p><p>“I suppose I shouldn’t have expected you to fall for the same trick twice,” Metal lamented, arms crossed as he inspected his rival.</p><p>“Been getting enough sleep, buddy?” he said in a mockingly light tone.</p><p>Sonic scowled, a little thrown by the weirdly friendly banter before remembering Amy’s strange affinity for robots. She’d probably managed to soften him a little since their last encounter.       </p><p>“Well, hello to you too, Metal. Back from the dead I see, I guess that means Zavok’s still kickin too. Whatever, I’d be more than happy to put you two back in the recycle bin where you belong,” Sonic said, putting the little guy down so he could get ready for the inevitable showdown that was coming.</p><p>To his surprise, Metal completely ignored him and tried to immediately snatch the kid again. Luckily, his younger self was ready for him this time and dodged, veering to the left before unexpectedly jumping on his head and bypassing him completely. </p><p>Metal let out a familiar angry screech as the other Sonic sped away with a cocky grin. Once he put a few miles between them, he stopped to stick his tongue out at him. Savage red eyes glowed with malicious intent as Metal’s jet propulsion system kicked in, and he charged at the kid. Sonic dashed to his rescue and knocked Metal out of the way with a hasty homing attack.</p><p>“Woah, what is your major malfunction, guy? Why do you even want him? Is it all part of Amy’s big master plan or something?” he joked, not expecting a sincere reply. He got one.</p><p>“Yes, mind handing him over so I don’t have to kick your butt. I’d appreciate it,” Metal said slowly getting up and dusting himself off as if they were only having a minor disagreement. </p><p>Sonic openly gaped at him, making Metal laugh. </p><p>“What even happened to you? ” he asked incredulously.</p><p>Sure, he’d heard rumors about Amy being a miracle worker, but she couldn’t have changed him that fast. His eyes became happy little triangles </p><p>“You seem a little shocked. I thought you’d be ecstatic.” </p><p>The kid laughed in spite of himself, but Sonic only groaned. Great, Amy taught him the magic of puns, just what he needed.  </p><p>“Allow me to shed some lightning on the matter,” Metal said, conjuring electricity from his fingertips. Something Egghead had been adamant to deny him once his penchant for rebellion became apparent. Amy didn’t see a problem with it apparently.  </p><p>Sonic dodged the blasts of electricity thrown his way, a little relieved he wasn’t focusing all his attention on the kid anymore.    </p><p>“You know what, forget I asked. If anything, you need to be grounded,” Sonic shot back. </p><p>“Hah, good one, but resistance is futile, just hand the kid over,” Metal said, increasing the intensity and range of his attacks.</p><p>Sonic fumbled to memorize the new pattern, but couldn’t help but feel enraged at the new pun. </p><p>“Would you lay off the electric puns before-” Sonic started to say, stupidly turning around just in time for Metal to land a direct hit.</p><p>It was enough to throw him off balance and make him violently crash several feet away from the smug robot. His Chaos Emerald rolled away from the safety of his quills, and he desperately reached for it but found it impossible to bridge the gap thanks to the effects of the electricity coursing through his system. Come on, just a few more feet, he thought, gritting his teeth.  </p><p>Metal swooped in within a few seconds and gingerly picked it up with his metal claws. His whole body practically sparkling as he stared at it with awe, only for the little guy to ram into him with a spin attack and catch him off guard. Sonic smirked when the gem fell right next to him. He grabbed it without thinking. Then, his brain caught up to him, and he squinted at it. The gem was dark blue. </p><p>Wait, wasn’t the one he had with him green? Whatever, a Chaos Emerald was a Chaos Emerald. It would do the job just fine. </p><p>Healing wasn’t something he was good at. It required a level of concentration that Sonic simply didn’t have in him most of the time, but after a few painfully boring lessons from Knuckles on Angel Island, he’d picked up the basics. Shame, he hadn’t taken Shadow up on his offer to teach him more chaos techniques when he’d had the chance.  </p><p>Shadow, you at least haven’t- have you? The Chaos Emerald seemed to pick up on his conflicted emotions, glowing dully. Sonic shut his eyes and concentrated, pleasantly surprised when the energy healed him right away without much prompting. It felt different this time, almost suffocating as it breathed new life into his tingling muscles. </p><p>A dark look crossed his face as he staggered forward, still a little numb. He welcomed the chaotic wind circling around him as Metal and the other Sonic fought at a breakneck pace. It was impossible to tell them apart at the speed they were going, but that didn’t matter.  </p><p>The kid could handle a little tornado, right? Amy had managed it at one point, and he was only a year younger than she’d been then. </p><p>Before he could unleash a wicked storm upon them both, Metal caught the little spinning twerp in his hands. Sonic hesitated, waiting for an opening. He didn’t get one. Metal turned to face him and immediately rolled his eyes.</p><p>“What’s with that look? You’re not going to nark on me, are you? I asked you nicely to hand him over and everything. Ames can’t blame me if you’re being unreasonable,” he argued, struggling to hold onto the squirming kid. </p><p>That snapped him out of it. Sonic winced, cradling his head to nurse the upcoming headache, unsure what had sparked his anger. He hadn’t even gotten hurt, and the kid was fine.   </p><p>“What did you just call Amy?” he asked, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smile as a traitorous spark of hope lighted within him. </p><p>“Ames, that’s a thing you say, right? Like not all the time but-”</p><p>“Of course, she made you more like me. Why wouldn’t she? That has to mean she’s still in there somewhere,” Sonic said, starry eyed as he latched onto this new scrap of evidence. </p><p>“Huh, so that’s what she meant when she put down relentlessly optimistic as a weakness. You’re in hard denial, my dude,” Metal said, shaking his head and wagging his finger at him while doing his best to ignore the thrashing kid struggling to escape his other arm.  </p><p>“Excuse me? What are you babbling about now, Metal? You have fifteen seconds to explain yourself before you become my new destructive outlet,” Sonic said, cracking his knuckles.  </p><p>“Simple, Amy doesn’t care about you anymore, guy. The only reason I didn’t destroy you on sight is that she wants to do it herself,” Metal explained, a hint of admiration in his words.  </p><p>“You’re lying,” Sonic said, clenching his fist in anger. </p><p>Amy would never want him dead. He was still sure of that much, at least. </p><p>Metal Sonic chuckled darkly, ignoring the indignant looks that were being thrown at him by both Sonics.</p><p>“Not really, you’re an obstacle to what she really wants, a glorified speed bump that she’s graciously allowed to impede her on her quest until now. It’s only a matter of time before she’s forced to eliminate you,” Metal Sonic amended. </p><p>“I’ll make you eat those words,” Sonic yelled, launching himself at Metal. </p><p>The robot disappeared in a blink of an eye. After a split second of confusion, he rapidly turned around and caught Metal Sonic’s foot before he could knock him out. </p><p>“You may have Shadow’s data, but at this point in my life, I can fight him in my sleep,” Sonic bragged as he took advantage of their close proximity and slammed him into the ground, dislodging the Chaos Emerald from his chest.</p><p>Metal lost his grip on the kid, and he zipped away with the emerald. A string of unpleasant robotic screeching left his copycats’ mouth as he rose. </p><p>“What’s the matter Metal? You’re normally such a gem. Did you take something for granite?" Sonic said, enjoying how Metal slipped back into uncontrollable rage at his words. It was far easier to deal with than his strangely pleasant alter ego. </p><p>The stubborn robot powered up and tried to take off after the little menace, only for Sonic to block his path by curling into a ball and slashing at him with spines as sharp and stylin’ as spinning blades. A lesser robot would have been destroyed on impact, but Metal had always been made of stronger stuff. He’d barely cracked the surface of his chest plate when the robot forced him back. </p><p>“Why even defend the little brat? He’s not worth the trouble. Surely, you’ve realized how useless he is to you after so many failed missions with him,” Metal said, blasting him with electricity now that he was in close range.  </p><p>Thanks to his speed, the electricity mostly bounced off him, leaving him only slightly singed. He continued to spin unbearably fast as Metal firmly held him in place and attempted to pump him full of electricity in vain. A stalemate that would have pushed them both to the brink if Metal’s frustration hadn’t gotten the better of him. </p><p>The petulant robot threw him to the ground without thinking, and Sonic bounced high into the air, expertly positioning himself so the full force of his compact body would slice through Metal like a searing blade. Just as he was about to ram into the robot, Metal disappeared again.   </p><p>Sonic narrowed his eyes. He’d seen the kid take the Chaos Emerald. So how? </p><p>Instinctively, he braced himself for another surprise attack and turned around. Nothing. </p><p>Rightfully paranoid, he waited another minute before jumping to the worse case scenario. Maybe, Metal had found the kid, and he’d stupidly allowed him to get kidnapped while patiently waiting to get attacked. Sonic was about to run and find the little guy when he spotted him a fair distance away, looking hopelessly conflicted.</p><p>“Everything okay, dude?” he asked, running up to him with a friendly smile on his face. </p><p>Strangely, he grew more agitated and started to fidget. He wasn’t sure why until it dawned on him that his younger self didn’t have the Chaos Emerald on him. </p><p>“Hey, it’s okay. You didn’t ruin the plan or anything,” Sonic assured him. </p><p>He sensed the Chaos Emeralds behind him a second too late. In a petty move, Metal kicked him square in the back before blasting him. Sonic cried out in pain and fell to the ground as electricity ripped through his body. The kid just stood there, frozen in place. </p><p>“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Metal said, charging his deadly but very slow to warm up arm cannon.</p><p>He ignored him and focused on getting the other Sonic to listen to him. </p><p>“Get out of here. I can handle this guy,” Sonic shouted, desperately trying to get up despite his body growing increasingly numb.  </p><p> The kid looked away. </p><p>“Why aren’t you-” Sonic heard the whir of the cannon and knew the answer. He just refused to accept it. He gave him one last smile that was rather bittersweet.   </p><p>“Take care of Tails for me.”</p><p>It was like he flipped a switch. The other Sonic jumped into action, curling into a ball and launching himself straight at Metal. There was a familiar thunk, and the hissing of the blast as it just barely missed him. He blinked in surprise, not expecting that. </p><p>Maybe, he didn’t hate him after all. </p><p>Sonic couldn’t see what was happening, but he could hear the clacking of Metal’s steel hands as they wordlessly spoke to each other. He tried to get up when a sudden sharp pain brought him to his knees. The kid heard the pained grunt that followed and rushed to his side. Despite his all but confirmed suspicions that the kid wasn’t what he seemed, Sonic was touched that he actually cared about his well being. Tails was right.</p><p>All Sonics were good Sonics. No matter where they came from. </p><p>The other Sonic pressed a yellow emerald into his hand. The energy coming from the emerald was warm and dense with a dark tinge to it, strangely inviting despite its all encompassing nature. As different as it was from the Chaos energy he was used to, the energy was just as eager to enter his body and yet somehow more polite. It wouldn’t without his permission. Sonic hesitated, knowing next to nothing about the strange energy that had healed him so quickly last time he was in a pinch. He sighed, semi-wishing he still had Shadow around to guide him.  </p><p>Yeah, open up that can of worms again while you’re immobilized and at the mercy of your nemesis and an eleven year old. Great priorities, Sonic.</p><p>Metal appeared on his other side, and the kid bristled, ready to attack. Recognizing that his copy wasn’t there to antagonize them, Sonic subtly shook his head, and the little guy backed off, glaring at the robot. </p><p>“If my generous offering is not up to your standards, I’ll gladly take it back,” Metal Sonic piped up, holding out an outstretched hand expectantly.</p><p>Sonic narrowed his eyes, instinctively tightening his grip on the odd emerald. </p><p>“Why are you helping me?” he asked point blank. </p><p>Metal rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.</p><p>“Consider it an apology for trying to wipe you from existence, things may have gotten a little heated there, but at least, we had a blast. Right?” Metal asked, offering to help him up as he delivered yet another rage inducing pun. </p><p>That was his thing, for Chaos sakes.  </p><p>Sonic took a deep breath and let it go, taking hold of Metal’s hand. </p><p>“Yeah sure, that’s one way to put it. What’s a little attempted murder between pals?” Sonic said, glancing at the green emerald that was once again lodged into the center of the robot’s chest with a smidge of resentment.  </p><p>Metal didn’t catch the sarcasm. His eyes became annoyingly cheery triangles. </p><p>“Super glad, we can put this behind us. So are you going to use the emerald or . . .” Metal trailed off, greedily trying to take back his gift. Sonic didn’t answer him.  </p><p>Instead, he shut his eyes, allowing the strange energy to enter his body. An unpleasant warmth filled him, flooding his senses as the oppressive energy reenergized his muscles and healed his burns in a matter of seconds. When he opened his eyes again, the emerald was gone, and Metal was hovering over him, marveling at his instant recovery. </p><p>“Huh, so that’s what happened to my other emerald. Pretty sure, you shouldn’t have absorbed all that energy at once, but it was still super cool,” Metal said, patting his back. He dampened his enthusiasm when Sonic shot him a cold disapproving look.</p><p>The childish robot backed away from him and pretended to cough. </p><p>“Anyway the little guy agreed to come with me if I healed you. So, we should really get going,” Metal said. </p><p>Sonic raised an eyebrow, glancing at the tiny fake that had begrudgingly left his side and walked over to Metal Sonic. He stayed silent, staring down his robot copy. Did he really think he could get away with taking the emerald and the little traitor? </p><p>“Would you stop giving me that look? I won fair and square.” </p><p> Sonic continued to stare at his copy, not saying a word. It was far too easy to unnerve the robot. Metal started to fidget, wringing his hands together as he tried to decipher what was going through his head.  </p><p>“Is this about the emerald? You took mine so it’s only fair I get to keep yours,” Metal argued. </p><p>Sonic chuckled, cracking his knuckles.</p><p>The robot really did think he was going to walk away from this. He charged at him like a bullet, and Metal made the mistake of reaching for the kid before fleeing. Sonic took advantage of the opening and ripped the emerald from his chest. In a panic, Metal propelled himself straight into the air, barely escaping with the kid. </p><p>His success was short-lived. In a blink of an eye, Sonic appeared before him, ready to unleash a powerful kick. Scared senseless, Metal automatically shielded himself by holding the copy up to take the brunt of the attack. </p><p>In his fury, Sonic almost kicked them into oblivion anyway but the Chaos Emerald began to glow and an image of Tails flashed into his mind. His head cleared, and he stopped himself just in time. The dark energy that was keeping him afloat left his body, and he grabbed a hold of Metal’s shoulders to keep himself from falling. In a fortunate coincidence, It also proved to be an effective intimidation tactic, thanks to his brief turn to the dark side. </p><p>“Give me the kid, and I’ll let you go,” Sonic promised, keeping his tone level despite the rage festering inside him. If he didn’t control himself, the lingering dark energy would overtake him again, and he couldn’t have that. At least, he had an idea of what could have happened to Amy now. </p><p>Metal nodded, releasing a high pitched squeal that may or may not have been an apology before shoving the kid into his arms and taking off. The little guy was trembling and scrambled to get away from him, seeming to forget that they were rapidly falling and about to crash into the unforgiving barren ground below. Sonic held up the Chaos Emerald and silently used Chaos Control to teleport them to safety. They were transported a few feet from their previous battlefield that was now a mess of rubble and scorched earth. </p><p>Curiously, none of Eggman’s sizable army had noticed the battle, remaining unmoving and lifeless as they stood in perfect rows awaiting orders. There was something off about that too, but he currently had his hands full trying to console one freaked out little hedgehog. </p><p>“Hey buddy, relax. I’m going to let you go in a sec, but I need you to know that wasn’t me, at least, not entirely. You shouldn’t let dark energy into your body if you don’t know what you’re doing. Who knew?” Sonic said sheepishly. </p><p>The kid stopped struggling and refused to look at him, ear slightly bent in obvious shame. Sonic put him down and chuckled.</p><p>“I guess you did.” </p><p>The little guy nodded in the affirmative. </p><p>Makes you do things that you regret. He signed, immediately breaking eye contact when Sonic shot him a suspicious look. </p><p>“Care to elaborate?” he asked, inviting him to share without putting too much pressure on the kid, at least not yet. He had a good idea who’d sent him by now, and he had questions, so many questions. </p><p>Not allowed to tell. He explained, grinding his shoe into the ground sullenly.</p><p>“ That's too bad. Might have come in handy,” he said, shrugging it off. </p><p>The other Sonic relaxed and started scanning the skies again. Tails was late, but with Eggman’s surprisingly large airforce that was to be expected. He’d check in with his little brother anyway in a minute. For now, Sonic wanted to make sure that the little guy knew he was still a valued member of the team, even if he had turned out to be a double agent this entire time.  </p><p>“By the way, thanks for having my back when it counted, lil buddy. I owe you one,” he said, patting his head.     </p><p>The head pat was begrudgingly accepted and the thanks shrugged off. </p><p>Sonic raised an eyebrow. If he didn’t know better, he’d think the little guy had been taking notes from Shadow. He sighed, wishing he could preemptively stop his brain from bringing him up all the time. He really did need to focus.</p><p>Sonic sent Tails a quick text to keep things private. Luckily, the kid was busy exploring the area and wasn’t paying him any attention. </p><p>
  <em> Hey buddy, how far away are you guys? </em>
</p><p>The reply was almost instantaneous as if he’d had it ready to go for a while. </p><p>
  <em> Why? Did you guys blow your cover already? </em>
</p><p>Sonic sucked in a breath, knowing full well that they had. He decided it was better not to lead with that. </p><p>
  <em> Haha very funny, seriously, there are a lot of airships here. Are you having trouble getting close enough? </em>
</p><p><em>Airships huh? Hmm, that could be a problem if we outstay our welcome. Might be better to leave my mech behind. If we time things right, we won’t need it. </em>  </p><p>Sonic sighed. There was no putting it off now. He wasn’t letting Tails join the fight without knowing what he was in for. </p><p>
  <em> Bring the mech. We’re going to need it. Metal found us.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> What? Why didn’t you lead with that? Did you take him out? </em>
</p><p>By now, the kid had abandoned his scouting mission and was trying to take a peek at what he was doing. He ignored him, worried Tails might do something reckless if he thought he was in danger.  </p><p>
  <em> Not exactly, I managed to fend him off, but he’s definitely on his way back to Amy.  </em>
</p><p><em>Then, there’s no point keeping a low profile anymore. We’ll be there in five.</em>  </p><p><em>Wait Tails. Don’t go in guns ablazing.</em> </p><p>His little brother didn’t answer right away, and Sonic started to fret, mentally calculating where he might be in this big expanse of desert. The other Sonic tapped him on the shoulder. He was about to tell him off when he noticed all of Eggman’s ground forces simultaneously shut down, barely making a sound as they went offline. Sonic grinned, imaging Eggman throwing a temper tantrum as his giant impenetrable fortress suddenly became a lot easier to infiltrate. Tails finally sent him a new message. </p><p>
  <em> Heh. Not my style.  </em>
</p><p>Sonic felt his heart swell with pride. His little brother had been very secretive about his new project, and it had paid off beautifully. </p><p>
  <em> You sly Fox.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Aw, it’s nothing special, just a really good EMP. Should put Metal out of commission for a while too. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sweet, one down, three to go. </em>
</p><p>Tails didn’t comment on his obvious omission.  </p><p>
  <em> Hang tight. I might need rescuing if things go south.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Gotcha, we’ll be standing by for the assist.  </em>
</p><p>“Okay lil buddy, Tails is-” The words got stuck in his throat. </p><p>Amy was sitting on the shoulder of a very familiar robot that he hadn’t seen in ages. In fact, her whole look was a blast from the past. Instead of a mask, she was wearing her old feather warrior headband, having entirely given up on having any kind of anonymity. Her hammer was back too, kind of. There were a lot more spikes on it than he would have liked. </p><p>True to her new persona, she wasn’t overly excited to see him. There was a certain smugness to her as she chewed her bubble gum. She blew a bubble and popped it before uttering a single phrase.</p><p>“Hey Sonic, long time, no see.”</p><p>The universe must really hate him.</p><hr/><p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter: </p><p>Classic: Run Boy Run by Woodkid </p><p>Modern:</p><p>Never Surrender by Lion</p><p>Where's the fire by Tim Freehan</p><p>Honorable mention:</p><p>Yesterday by the Beatles</p><p>Note: I enjoyed writing Sonic and Classic's dynamic. They're fun. Also, Tails ended being fine and perfectly well adjusted which wasn't the original plan, but I guess I stan well adjusted Tails now. He's a good boy trying his best. Chapter 8 is being worked on, but it's looking like we might end up with another chapter split. At least, we're finally getting some Amy Sonic interaction. </p><p>Until Next Time! </p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Shattered Illusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <strong> <em>Shattered Illusion</em> </strong>
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  <em>
    <span>Joke Summary: In which the real enemies are the friends Sonic made along the way</span>
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  <span>The wind was silent as he stared at his longtime friend. The new Amy could easily pass for a goddess, not that he’d ever tell her that. She already had way too big an ego for someone who was technically Eggman’s lackey. Brilliant green eyes watched him without really seeing him, and again, he felt small. Sonic had spent so much time looking for her, and she didn’t seem to care at all. He really should have expected a lukewarm reception after their last encounter, but the experience had been so surreal that he’d never consciously accepted it as the new status quo. </span>
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  <span>What was worse, he saw no traces of the kind hearted girl that would follow him to the ends of the earth if she had to. She no longer shined in the same way she once did. Instead, her light had been overshadowed by a creeping darkness. The realization deeply troubled him. That was the problem with going fast, sometimes you fast forwarded too far and missed something important like your little brother getting taller than you or one of your best friends becoming a completely different person. </span>
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<p>
  <span>There was a lot he could have said. He hadn’t seen her in over a week, and his mind was working overtime as a million questions flooded his brain. Important questions that had been burning in his mind since he’d last seen her. So, of course, all he managed to actually say was-</span>
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<p>
  <span>“Hey Ames, haven’t seen that headband in a while.”</span>
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  <span>Amy giggled in a superficially sweet way that left him wanting.    </span>
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<p>
  <span>“I was feeling nostalgic.”</span>
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  <span>“I can see that,” Sonic said, eyeing Gamma suspiciously. The robot hadn’t been around last time he fought Amy.  </span>
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  <span>“Mind sharing how he survived an EMP blast and Metal didn’t?” Sonic said, easily maintaining his lighthearted tone despite the feeling of dread hanging over him. He’d had years of practice after all. His only real tell was the ever increasing tension of his muscles as his body prepared to jump forward like a spring at the slightest provocation, a bad habit left over from his childhood. </span>
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<p>
  <span>“By design,” she said with a smirk, blowing another bubble. </span>
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<p>
  <span>“Trouble in paradise? I’m always available if you ever change your mind,” The words slipped out without him really thinking them through. Her smirk widened, and it was taking all his will power not to squirm. </span>
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<p>
  <span>“Depends, what do you want from me, Sonic?” she asked, no less forward than before. He sucked in a breath, not expecting that. </span>
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  <span>Even as an adult, Amy had never really asked him what he wanted their relationship to be. He had always assumed she was afraid of the answer. The new Amy wasn’t. </span>
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<p>
  <span>His first instinct was to dodge the question completely and crack a joke. In any other situation, he would have, but more and more, she was pulling away from him and becoming frighteningly detached from everything in her past life. If Sonic didn’t take this seriously, he might lose her. With that in mind, he decided to be honest. </span>
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<p>
  <span>“I want things to go back to the way they were. I miss you. You were always there for me, for everyone. You’re like the sea; constant, unavoidable, terrifying, but somehow gentle, soothing, and inspirational. When a force of nature like you believes in me, I feel like I can do anything. ” </span>
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  <span>Amy didn’t say a word, and her face was unreadable as she silently judged him. Her grip on her hammer tightened, and he got nervous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And yeah, I also really miss your cooking, but this is more important than cake and chilli dogs. Come home Amy,” he begged, letting a hint of vulnerability slip through. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy was unimpressed, yawning by the end of his little speech. Sonic was dumbfounded, unused to his friend being anything less than absolutely ecstatic when he shared his feelings.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that all?” she asked, staring at him blankly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Sonic worried he was failing some sort of test, but he wasn’t the type to lie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said feebly, half expecting her to snap at him for getting it wrong. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her ears bent back subtly, letting him know she wasn’t completely made of stone.       </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said smoothly, breaking eye contact with him as she shifted her gaze to the Egg Fortress, waiting for something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You seem a little short staffed today,” he remarked idly, hands on his hips as he continued to feign a devil may care attitude. The truth was his heart was hammering a million miles a minute.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy turned her attention back to him, eyes briefly flashing red as she blew yet another bubble.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe, I wanted you to have a fighting chance,” she said playfully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s mighty nice of you, but I’m a little more prepared this time,” Sonic said, taking out the green Chaos Emerald from his quills. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a sparkle to her eyes as she admired the gem in his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shadow’s favorite,” she whispered, making him bristle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t getting it if that’s what she was thinking.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other Sonic also stepped up, puffing up his chest and giving her the most serious expression he could manage. Sonic resisted the urge to roll his eyes, already aware he wasn’t going to be much help. Amy giggled again, and to his annoyance, it actually seemed genuine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think you're a big tough guy huh?” she asked. He nodded, pounding his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s see how you do on your own,” Amy said, unexpectedly whipping up a forcefield with a flick of her wrist that knocked him off his feet and separated him from the kid. He was up again in seconds and attempted to use Chaos Control to get through. Nothing happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yeah, the kid was probably a spy, but he couldn’t help the surge of panic going through him at the thought of not being able to help him if he needed it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chaos Control!” he shouted, hoping saying the actual words would make it more effective. Nada. Amy probably would have laughed at him if she hadn’t been occupied handling the kid. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic's next step would have been to break it apart by force, but the other Sonic was doing fine without him, and he needed to conserve energy if Knuckles idea was going to work. Reluctantly, he forced himself to relax. The kid was zigzagging all over the place as he narrowly dodged the oversized tarot cards she was throwing at him without a hint of hesitation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yet, there were small signs that neither of them were fighting seriously. No matter what Amy threw at him; it always seemed to miss, and despite the enclosed space, something that always triggered Sonic’s fight or flight instincts; the other Sonic wasn’t trying too terribly hard to get away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma wasn’t particularly fast either even when he crouched down and rolled around like a makeshift car. If the other Sonic really wanted to, he could have done some real damage and hit him with a couple of homing attacks by now, but no, the fight was more of an elaborately choreographed chase than anything else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes of playful back and forth, Amy managed to haphazardly trap the little guy using her giant tarot cards by making a makeshift pen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ Aha, finally gotcha, whatcha going to do about it, shorty?” She asked tauntingly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid smirked, dropping his serious expression completely. He formed a tight ball and started to spin, rolling up one of the giant tarot cards and launching himself straight at Amy. He uncurled himself at the last second and tackled her to the ground. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was sickeningly cute. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The forcefield went away as Amy gave up all pretense that they were enemies. Her laughter as sweet as the spring made his insides twist. This was the closest he’d come to seeing the real Amy since she’d left the group. He felt a twinge of envy that he couldn’t bring her out himself. What did his younger self have that he didn’t? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, you got me. Giant tarot cards are not my best move,” Amy admitted, happily sitting in the dirt as she gently held his younger self. He didn’t seem to mind one bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She whispered something he couldn’t quite make out and pecked him on the cheek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Apparently, that was a step too far. The other Sonic jumped up and ran away in a panic, and Amy simply laughed again, not at all bothered that the kid had escaped her clutches. He wasn’t sure why at first, but then, it clicked. Amy had complete faith in his double and fully expected him to come back on his own.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, when had she stopped believing in him? What had changed? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This time, he was the one afraid to ask. So, he didn’t. Sonic ran too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey lil fella, don’t leave me hangin’ over something like that! Cooties aren’t real!” Sonic shouted, barely hiding his amusement as he chased after him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wind picked up again, and he didn’t look back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy was almost relieved to see him go. She didn’t lure him here to have a heart to heart, and it was becoming increasingly clear that what he actually missed about her was what she could do for him. The ruby hissed in agreement, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Always so quick to put Sonic down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In many ways, Amy wouldn’t be the person she was without him. She was grateful and would give him what he wanted once she had what she needed, just not in the way he was expecting. The old Amy wasn’t ever coming back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And yet, she found herself holding a lavender rose, unsure when she had summoned it. She twirled it in her fingers, and her fractured heart couldn’t help but beat a little faster thinking of him. Hope was hard to squash. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unable to establish communication with Shadow. How would you like to proceed?” Gamma asked, interrupting her thoughts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right, nothing was going to plan. She let the rose wither in her hands. Why hadn’t she seen this coming? Of course, Tails wouldn’t let Sonic charge in headfirst and blast robots to smithereens when their primary goal was to ‘rescue her.’ So much for the distraction she’d promised Shadow. In any other situation, they would have annihilated the place already. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How would you like to proceed?” he asked again when she stayed quiet too long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy clung to the ruby’s steady heat, trying to sense where Shadow was. She could faintly feel Chaos Energy coming from two directions: the big expanse of desert in front of her and the tower behind her. Knowing what that might mean, she growled in frustration, unsure of what to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Part of her was more than a little tempted to break in and drag Shadow out herself, but there was no way to know for sure if he’d been discovered or not, and she refused to botch another mission for her own selfish reasons. She needed to keep her cool and deal with this rationally. Who could she send that wouldn’t draw  too much attention from Eggman? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Send Birdy to check on him.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma inclined his head and paused, hand over the chamber where Birdy and his two artificial Chaos Emeralds rested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Data suggests Shadow has been captured,” he stated bluntly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma clearly wanted to go and rescue Shadow and hadn’t expected her to tell him otherwise. Amy frowned, delicately removing his hand from his energy source. This was the closest they’d come to having a disagreement since their initial meeting.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what it looks like, but we need more info before we go rushing in,” Amy said, releasing Birdy from his container. He happily circled her and started chirping up a storm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you wait if it was Sonic?” Gamma asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy shut the chamber door harder than she meant to in her shock. She wondered which one of her boys had ratted her out. This wasn’t the type of thing Gamma would have picked up on on his own. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she admitted, silently tying a note to Birdy’s foot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Shadow can take care of himself. He wouldn’t want me to compromise the mission because I was being a worrywart,” she argued. Gamma nodded but looked away to let her know that he still wasn’t keen on her answer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy gave Birdy his instructions and sent him on his way, grateful that Eggman’s robots were still out of commission and that the aircraft above wouldn’t bother with a random flicky. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, it was time to prepare for the worst. If Shadow really was out of commission, she needed everyone else at full strength, and unfortunately that meant unleashing her loose cannon back upon the world. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go check on Metal and boot him back up. We’re going to need him if things don’t go our way,” Amy said, reluctantly conjuring another set of emeralds and giving them to Gamma. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Copy, I will see to the gremlin,” Gamma said, offering her a salute. Amy held back a snort. Shadow was rubbing off on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy heard the familiar whirring sound of tails spinning in the distance and looked up. Tails was coming to meet her and had brought no weapons she could see, only the Miles Electric, a wrist communicator, and his favorite pair of googles. She sighed in disappointment. When they’d made this plan, she’d been optimistic that Sonic was done talking, and the rest of her friends would follow his lead and take her on regardless of their feelings. But no, even Sonic was reluctant to attack her, and if she was honest with herself, she wasn’t prepared to attack first.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Amy, long time no see,” Tails said, giving her a friendly wave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy didn’t wave back, keeping a steady grip on her hammer. His smile faltered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma raised his gun but didn’t shoot right away, presenting her with a silent question. She immediately grabbed his arm and pulled it down in a panic. Her heart thundered wildly at the mere thought of someone blasting Tails out of the sky. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Tails is off limits. Go get Metal and bring him here,” Amy ordered.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma paused for a moment as he registered the new command.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Understood, Tails has been demoted to civilian status. Current objective updated: retrieve Metal,” Gamma said before crouching down and speeding away.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That wasn’t exactly what she’d meant, but he was already disappearing into the distance, and she decided it wasn’t worth correcting him at this point. Unfortunately, Tails had been in earshot the entire time and finally landed a few feet from her.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Civilian?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow, mildly insulted  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails was a fair bit taller than most of their friends now and had the same confident air about him that his older brother had. For once, it wasn’t endearing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” she snapped, pointing her weapon at him so he knew she meant business. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails didn’t even flinch. He rolled his eyes and ignored the question, quickly typing something into the Miles Electric. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could ask you the same thing. Last I heard, you’d left Eggman’s base with Shadow,” Tails said, obviously unhappy she’d left him hanging. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That wasn’t a lie,” Amy said with a smirk, setting her hammer aside for the time being. If she couldn’t scare him off, she might as well offer Tails some closure on her sudden disappearance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” he said, lowering his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does Eggman have something on Shadow too, then?” Tails asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy frowned. Sometimes, Tails was too smart for his own good.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think he’s blackmailing us?” she said, pretending to be skeptical.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails saw right through the ploy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why else would you work for Eggman willingly?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right now, he’s useful to me. Shadow’s just along for the ride,” Amy explained reluctantly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cameras were probably still down, but she didn’t want to say anything too incriminating, on the off chance they were back online. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever’s going on, I can help you if you’ll let me. I’m just as smart as he is, probably smarter,” Tails insisted, closing the distance between them to argue his case.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s very sweet of you, Tails, but there’s nothing you can do for me,” she said, ruffling his hair for old times sake. He grimaced, grumbling slightly as he bared his tiny fangs at her.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” he asked, not backing down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy didn’t have a good answer to that. Was there any real reason to keep her friends out of this, outside of Phantom Ruby induced paranoia? Even if he didn’t understand the way her powers worked, she trusted Tails to take the situation seriously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could even start to explain, the Miles Electric began wildly beeping. Tails only managed to look at the data for half a second before she ripped it out of his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You weren’t interested in helping me at all, were you?” Her eyes flashed red as the dark energy within her amplified. They only wanted to contain her as if she were no better than an overgrown rosebush that had outstayed its welcome. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His ears drooped and any semblance of confidence he had vanished without a trace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, I want to help you, but I needed more information, and I wasn’t sure if you’d give it to me willingly,” he admitted, nervously wrapping his tails around himself so he was half hidden between them.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy scoffed, ignoring the small part of her that wanted to aw at the sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you lied,” she said, mentally berating herself for even thinking about telling him anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. I wanted to trust you, but after what happened last time, I didn’t want to take any chances,” he said, practically turning into a trembling ball of nerves before her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If they’d sent Tails first so she’d let her guard down, it was working. Against her better judgement, she decided to let him off the hook. Amy quickly overloaded the Miles Electric with electricity so it was next to useless and shoved the machine into his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take it and get out of here. I promise nothing will happen to Sonic if you go.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“B-but It’s m-my fault you’re even in this mess,” Tails said, eyes already watering as his guilt threatened to overtake him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy winced as every single mistake that had led to this moment came rushing back to her. She hadn’t bailed when Team Dark had unexpectedly crashed the base. During the commotion, Eggman had left the ruby prototype unguarded, and she’d grabbed it without thinking. Jackal boy had caught her off guard, and because she’d insisted that she didn’t need back up, his band of jackals had nearly taken her out. In her desperation, she’d called out to Shadow, and the ruby had answered. The rest was history. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no it’s not,” she said softly, idly wondering where’d she’d be now if she hadn’t grabbed hold of the ruby that day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Probably locked in the tower waiting for Sonic to rescue her, possibly unaware Shadow was in danger in the first place, there was a selfish part of her that would have preferred that to her current misery. The ruby hissed angrily, testier than usual. She gently curled her fingers around the gem ignoring the painful heat emanating from the ruby so she could soothe the being inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Relax, you’re stuck with me for the time being, she reassured him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The heat dissipated into nothing upon hearing her words and the ruby pulsed pleasantly beneath her palm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you even need the original ruby?” Tails asked, redirecting her attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s eyes went to the damaged Miles Electric and sighed, what an annoyingly clever fox. She could only hope whatever had delayed Shadow was dealt with, and he was well on his way to the rendezvous point. Otherwise, her friends had all the info they needed to take her down without much trouble. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal burst onto the scene like a rocket and nabbed Tails before she could even blink.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Amy asked, a touch of fear in her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In her rush to keep him from hurting Sonic, she hadn’t even considered programming him to leave the rest of her friends alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Acquiring bait,” Metal answered. His Sonic programming didn’t seem to be active anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hah, do you really think you're the first one to try the ‘let’s kidnap Tails and lure Sonic into a trap trick?’ Wait til’ you get a load of this.” He pushed a button on his communicator.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nothing happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The mech’s flight systems must have gotten scrambled in the blast. Whoops,” he said, looking away in embarrassment.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do not believe he will require much effort to contain,” Metal added, after Tails’ failed escape attempt. Tails hmphed and crossed his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you really going to let your robot damsel me, Amy? I came here in peace.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was Amy’s turn to raise an eyebrow. That was rich after what he’d just done. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You scanned me without my permission to get more data on the ruby so you could help Sonic take me down. I’m perfectly within my rights to keep you captive if I want,” she reminded him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal Sonic’s red eyes glowed with ill intent as his razor sharp claws pressed themselves even more tightly around the fox. Amy swallowed nervously, glad when she saw no traces of blood on Tails. One wrong move and this could end in disaster. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, we are in agreement,” Metal decided. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Tails is off limits. Put him down,” Amy said, perfectly indignant as she pointed to the ground </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t immediately obey her which caused alarm bells to start ringing in her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ I don’t understand. Why would you willingly give up an advantage in battle? ” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy knew he wouldn’t like the answer. It was the same reason no one had thrown a punch yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn’t given time to make up an excuse the robot would believe because Gamma finally caught up to them and promptly unleashed a torrent of bullets at Metal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thanks to Metal’s speed, he managed to dodge most of Gamma’s hits with relative ease, and the hits that did land only caused minor cosmetic damage at best. Freaked out by the barrage of bullets being thrown at them, Tails clung to Metal for dear life unaware that Gamma had been programmed with the accuracy of a professional sniper. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tails is off limits,” Gamma stated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least one of you listens to me,” Amy said, reclaiming her spot on Gamma’s shoulder in an effort to protect him from Metal’s wrath. It worked like a charm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal redirected the electric blast meant for Gamma at the last minute so it hit the ground.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, excuse me princess for trying to contribute,” Metal snapped, slipping into Sonic’s way of speaking without consciously realizing it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails laughed and sent her a knowing look. Amy couldn’t stand it and broke eye contact. She didn’t do it for the reasons he was thinking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Relaxed now that bullets weren’t flying everywhere, Tails turned to Metal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look guy, from what I understand, Sonic already defeated you today with the help of an eleven year old. Do you really want to keep embarrassing yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal let out a series of unintelligible robotic chirps that only made Tails take him even less seriously than he had before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He beat you? You had two emeralds, and the little one shouldn’t have been a problem,” Amy asked worriedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he’d come back without the emeralds, she’d assumed he’d simply overloaded himself and caused his own demise. Metal scratched his cheek and didn’t look directly at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah about that-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A sudden influx of static came from Metal’s speakers and an exclamation mark appeared on Metal’s screen. He cautiously answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Metal, What’s going on out there? Do you have eyes on Sonic?” Eggman asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but I’ve captured Tails and sent our coordinates to our spy. Sonic should be here soon,” Metal said, eyes on Amy. She was seething and it was taking everything in her power not to smash him with her hammer. How dare he go behind her back like this? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good boy, you’ve already accomplished more than the rest of Amy’s two bit imitations could ever hope to achieve. Zavok is heading your way for support,” Eggman said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Chaos?” Metal asked, knowing better than to bring up Shadow in front of her.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unfortunately, Chaos is occupied at the moment fighting that knucklehead echidna, or I’d have him tag along. Focus on taking down Sonic. Shouldn’t be a problem with the three of you there,” Eggman mentioned offhandedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The cameras were definitely back up, and he wanted her to know it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh and before I forget, let Amy know that Shadow is perfectly fine and will continue to remain so as long as the ruby does not leave my possession. Found the sweetheart stuck in the Phantom Ruby’s containment chamber after that nasty EMP blast, can you imagine?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s heart stopped. He’d been caught just as she feared, and Eggman was trying to force her hand. She shut her eyes and reminded herself that he was near invulnerable so long as he had access to Chaos Energy. But how long until Eggman found a way around that? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The image of her last Shadow being crushed under the weight of a giant mech’s foot as he sacrificed himself to defend her came to mind, and she preemptively wiped the tears away. If Eggman wanted the hedgehog dead, he’d find a way to do it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyway, that’s enough chit chat. I want Sonic captured alive. Don’t disappoint me,” Eggman finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can, and I will,” Metal shot back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha ha, watch that mouth of yours. Don’t think I’m above making an example of you. The only reason I haven’t yet is because it’d be a waste of time. You’re not even her favorite robot,” Eggman said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal Sonic let out a robotic growl of discontent, making Eggman laugh his signature laugh. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s my boy,” he said, infuriating his robotic creation even more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ Good luck, with her in charge, your odds of making it out of this fight aren’t too good, but by all means, continue to blame me for all your problems,” Eggman said before cutting communication completely. Metal unleashed an unholy screech that made Amy and Tails wince and cover their ears.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Metal,” she started to say. He cut her off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to hear your lies.”    </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy went against her instincts and stayed quiet. She could delete him and start over when it was more convenient for her to deal with the impetus robot, but that would be proving Eggman right. She’d also have one less ally. She sighed and left Gamma’s shoulder, picking up her weapon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you don’t want to talk about it, would fighting me make you feel better?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails looked at her like she was insane, but she focused her attention on Metal. His anger seemed to leave him in an instant. He looked away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I do not wish to see you come to harm,” Metal said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In that case, put Tails down before I make you,” Amy said, getting into a fighting stance. She could already sense the Chaos Energy trapped inside the weapon crackle in anticipation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal continued to hover in the air, stubbornly holding onto his captive.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He has already proven to be untrustworthy, and I have not harmed him. You would be attacking me without provocation,” Metal argued. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy lowered her weapon. He had a point. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, you can hold onto him for now,” she said, barely believing the words coming out of her mouth. She wasn’t sure if this was a sign that Metal was becoming more reasonable or if she was finally losing it.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails looked like he wanted to argue but one look from her shut him up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gamma, take him out if he tries anything,” she added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Understood, must protect Tails at all costs,” Gamma said, eagerly reloading his weapon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy was then reminded that she’d given another one of her creations that job when the little one raced onto the scene and launched himself at Metal without warning. The force of the impact made Metal lose his head, and Tails managed to escape in the commotion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma fired multiple rounds at the headless Metal when he tried to go after Tails again, successfully redirecting his attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing? Make yourself useful and retrieve my head,” Metal said, more annoyed than anything by the friendly fire. Gamma wasn’t trying to destroy him . . . yet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy debated calling off the fight. They didn’t need a hostage. If anything, she needed allies that wouldn’t disappear on her the minute Eggman pressed a button. She was about to say as much when her little Sonic snatched Metal’s head from the ground. Enraged, Metal’s head let out a shrill cry that nearly forced Sonic to drop the thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have fifteen seconds to put me down before I drown you in the chemical plant,” Metal threatened. Sonic stubbornly shook his head, ear flat as the robot emitted another horrifying shriek. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When that didn’t work, Metal abandoned his pursuit of Tails and went after Sonic. The sneaky little darling tossed his head at him at the last second and took advantage of the robot’s confusion to hit him with another homing attack. Metal lost his grip on his head, and Sonic swiped it before taking off again. Amy tried not to laugh but couldn’t help herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was so like him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal’s headless body turned around to face her, hands on his hips. She only laughed harder. It was all too much. Catching her breath, she composed herself and cleared her throat. As hilarious as all this was, she needed to do some damage control. The important thing now was to get Shadow back and possibly swipe the ruby if she could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s enough. Circumstances have changed. Tails is not our enemy,” she explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Amy is correct. Tails is an innocent civilian that has been caught in the crossfire. Look at this footage of him cowering in fear,” Gamma said, displaying video feed of the fox having a breakdown as her illusions mercilessly cut Sonic down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her throat went dry as she looked at the guilt ridden fox, feeling a stab of regret. Despite how much he’d grown, Tails suddenly seemed . . . so small. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tails,” she started to say. He didn’t let her finish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not a civilian, just a coward.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tossed the broken Miles Electric to the ground and refused to look any of them in the eye. Amy didn’t go against her instincts this time. She rushed to his side and gave him a hug, letting tears she’d been holding back fall.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No Tails, you’re amazing. You’ve always been amazing. I never wanted to hurt you. I . . . ” Amy trailed off, noticing Birdy in the distance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What game was Eggman playing this time?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does this mean you’ll come back with us, Amy?” Tails asked, refocusing her attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy frowned, taking a step back. She hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. Her priority was keeping Shadow safe, and to do that, she needed to wretch herself free of the doctor’s influence. Could she trust Tails to help her with that? She wanted to. He may have tricked her, but she couldn’t really blame him for being cautious around her after everything that happened. As far as he knew, she’d been willing to kill Sonic over nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d like to, but Shadow is-” Tails raised his hand and cut her short.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Say no more, we’ll get him back. Sonic should be here any second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s face fell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That wasn’t as reassuring as it once was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Birdy landed on her shoulder. There was a new note attached to its leg, and she carefully unwrapped it, ignoring the feeling of dread at the pit of her stomach. Her heart fluttered as she realized this was Shadow’s handwriting, not Eggman’s. She let out a sigh of relief as she read the note, only half listening to what Tails was saying. Shadow was in a tight spot, but he hadn’t been captured yet. If Eggman really wanted to stop her, he only had one move left to play. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So why hadn’t he? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, we’ll need to get rid of the Phantom Ruby prototype so you can think clearly again. There’s way too much negative energy in that thing to use it safely unfortunately,” Tails said, snapping her back to reality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I appreciate your concern, but we can’t destroy it yet,” she said, automatically tightening her grip on the ruby. It pulsed in a steady rhythm beneath her palm, laughing at her naivety. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You can’t hesitate, darling. We both know what will happen to Shadow if you do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was jarring to suddenly have him in her head and more than a little scary. Even worse, his words had a ring of truth to them now that she was in the thick of things. Would her Shadow even be in trouble if she’d fought Sonic the minute she knew where he was?  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why? We can handle Eggman without it. That gem isn’t something to mess around with,” Tails said, starting to look annoyed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He never takes you seriously. The ruby noted.  Amy found herself agreeing with him as years of previously forgotten resentment flashed to the forefront of her mind. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need it to save Shadow,” Amy said, starting to rethink her decision to trust Tails.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No offense, Amy, but you keeping that thing puts Shadow in more danger than Eggman ever could. We’re getting rid of it, and that’s final.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Are you going to let him boss you around like that? The ruby asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy raised her hammer without really thinking about the implications. Tails immediately backed down and took a few steps back, raising his hands in surrender.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, Amy, calm down, we can’t talk about it more once Sonic’s here. You don’t have to get emotional.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Translation, I will wait until Sonic gets here so I can win the argument because we both know that he’ll take my side over yours every time. You’re just a silly girl who can’t control herself. Why would I bother listening to you?  The ruby said, sounding bored.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Do any of them even know you saved the planet once? I’m sure they never bothered to ask. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy narrowed her eyes and called her creations over. By now, Metal and the other Sonic had negotiated a truce, and the robot finally had his head back on his shoulders. To his credit, he immediately picked up on the growing tension and flashed his sharp claws at Tails in warning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d watch your mouth if I were you, little fox. You’re outnumbered.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the one who should cool it. We’re allies now. Right Amy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other Sonic looked uneasy and shot a questioning glance her way. For once, She ignored him and continued to glare daggers at the fox. Gamma analyzed the context clues presented to him and was silent for a long moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tails has been upgraded into an enemy combatant,” Gamma said, raising his gun.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails backed away slowly, sensing things had taken a turn for the worse. His years of training melted away into nothing, and he once again seemed so very small.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Amy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes flashed red as she gave him a vindictive smirk. She raised her hammer, ready to pound her snotty little brother into next week. Tails instinctively rolled into a ball and dodged the hit, falling back on the training Sonic had given him as a kid. He attempted to fly away and yelped in surprise when she easily grabbed him by the tails and yanked him down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice try, but I’ve learned a few new tricks,” Amy said, delivering a swift kick that sent him tumbling a few feet. He struggled to get up, and she closed in before he could get very far. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was about to take another swing when her little Sonic dashed in front of him, adorably tiny arms spread wide as he attempted to shield Tails from her wrath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, are you playing hero now?” she asked, mildly amused by his inevitable heel turn.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic nodded, swallowing nervously.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Suit yourself,” Amy said, swinging her hammer anway. She stopped herself at the last second when he refused to move and sighed. Even at her worst, he hadn’t considered attacking her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blue devil stared at her dumbly as if he couldn’t believe he was still alive. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How could she in good conscience wipe such a well meaning little hellion from existence? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You two have the worst timing,” Amy said irritably, turning around to face her washed up hero. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic flashed into existence a few seconds later holding a shrunken Master Emerald against his hip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy raised an eyebrow, not really sure what to make of Sonic’s game plan. The Master Emerald was certainly powerful, but nothing it could do would be of much use against her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, I’m late. I ran into Zavok, and he just wouldn’t take no for an answer. Hope ya’ don’t mind being down one goon, Ames. Doesn’t look like he was your type of minion anyway,” Sonic said, glancing at Metal and Gamma knowingly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s grip tightened on her hammer. Why wasn’t he making a move yet?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The real question is why aren’t you making a move yet? Red grumbled. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn’t really answer that. One minute, she’d been entirely consumed by rage, and the next, the feeling had slipped away, replaced by a killer headache. The Master Emerald’s blinding light wasn’t helping any. She pinched the bridge of her nose and winced in pain. Every part of her wanted to smash the thing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay there?” Sonic asked, dropping the easy smile as it became increasingly apparent she was anything but okay. He unwisely took a step towards her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes snapped open, and he flinched back. They must have been red. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really, can we just get this over with? I know you didn’t come here to chat,” Amy said flatly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why couldn’t he just attack her? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She deserved it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic kept walking towards her with an oddly serious expression on his face, the kind he only ever wore when the stakes were life or death. She really should have taken a swing at him, but she was curious if he would actually willingly break his five feet rule for once. He did, and she hated how this simple gesture sent her back in time and rekindled her long buried desires. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen Ames, can I ask you something?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded, frustratingly speechless. Sonic was so close, too close, and Shadow was so very very far away. D-did they really have to be enemies? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“When did you start believing I wouldn’t come through for you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He might as well have punched her in the gut.There was no satisfying way to articulate the feelings swirling inside her. The best she could do was explain why she wasn’t currently squeezing the life out of him in hopes he’d stay by her side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know better than to try to catch the wind, Sonic. You have to wait for the wind to come to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The smile came back, and there was an almost otherworldly light to his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really? Kind of seems like you’ve given up on the wind all together,” he shot back playfully. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks can be deceiving,” Amy answered easily. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could respond, Tails flew onto the scene and stole his attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank goodness you’re here. The real Phantom Ruby is inside the fortress. The one Amy has is a fake,” Tails shouted, narrowly escaping Metal’s clutches thanks to the other Sonic ramming into the robot at the last second. She chose not to comment on it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If the little one wanted to keep playing hero for a while that was fine by her, she’d come collect him when the time was right. For now, he might still make a useful spy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, with any luck, Sonic wouldn’t realize the significance of the information Tails had just given him. Sure enough, Sonic only looked mildly annoyed by Tails’ bad timing and stayed put.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s good to know and all, but what happened to sticking to the plan, Tails?” Sonic asked, raising an eyebrow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not the time, Sonic!” Tails shouted, narrowly dodging Metal’s deadly claws as the robot almost got a lucky hit in.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, I’ll get right to it,” Sonic said, plopping the Master Emerald in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And, how exactly do you plan to beat me with that?” Amy asked in spite herself. She didn’t think Sonic would lie to her, and she was genuinely curious why he’d chosen to bring that oversized gem instead of collecting all seven Chaos Emerald as they’d been expecting.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was never going to fight you, Amy,” Sonic answered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This only left her more confused as he pressed his hands against the giant emerald’s surface.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chaos-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It finally occurred to her that the Master Emerald was perfectly capable of doing exactly what one might do with a Chaos Emerald. Amy sprang forward, desperate to smash the thing before Sonic could finish saying the words. Unfortunately, she reacted far too late. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Control!” he shouted. Time froze, leaving Amy standing there mid swing with an absolutely terrifying look on her face. Sonic panted, placing a hand on his chest as he waited for his heart to catch up to the rest of him. A few seconds later, he couldn’t help but feel giddy.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh yeah! Look at him mastering time and space like a champ. Eat your heart out, Shadow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The smile left his face. Right, still not thinking about that guy, focus, Sonic. You have what? Two, maybe, three minutes with the amount of juice the Master Emerald has? His first instinct was to take out Metal Sonic before he could nab Tails, but his little brother was right. They only had one shot at this. Amy would never let herself get this close again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic grabbed the heavy drill whispon that he’d unconvincingly hidden in his spines and put it on. Already shaking, he aimed for the ruby. If Tails calculations were right, the modifications he made to it would be more than enough to shatter the ruby on impact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Assuming you don’t miss, Shadow’s voice taunted him from inside his head. The shaking got worse. He took a deep breath. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Do you want your friend back or not? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic narrowed his eyes and activated the drill. He didn’t miss, thank Chaos, but the ruby was not destroyed on impact. In fact, the more pressure he put on the gem, the more it seemed to glow, and the louder Shadow’s voice got.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Did you really think this would work?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic ignored it, thinking he might be getting somewhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yes, by all means, waste your time trying the same thing over and over again.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, the voice was starting to get to him. Should he try something else? No, he didn’t have better options, outside of shredding Amy and the ruby to pieces with his spines. He pressed down even harder at the thought, but the ruby remained frustratingly impenetrable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You could try grabbing the ruby again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic grit his teeth, hating that he seriously considered it. Why was he even hearing, Shadow? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because that worked brilliantly the first two times,” he shot back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The voice didn’t respond right away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, you’re not as stupid as you look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic growled in response. It had been a long time since Shadow had spoken to him that way and even then, he’d been a confused amnesiatic mess, but he supposed they weren’t exactly friends at the moment. Assuming, he was even talking to the real Shadow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The drill whispon broke down, and Shadow let out a rich deep laugh. Sonic tossed the whispon aside in a huff. He had thirty seconds left and no other plan. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I don’t know why I thought you’d be a challenge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic bristled but kept his cool, grabbing the Master Emerald before Amy had a chance shatter it into pieces. If anything happened to this thing, Knuckles would kill him.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s right, run away like you always do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, that one- that one seemed a little personal. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took all of Sonic’s self restraint to keep running. He was definitely going to do more than kick Shadow in the back of the head next time he saw him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Behind him, he heard the ground break apart from the force of Amy’s hit. She let out a grunt of frustration and several knives whizzed past him as he made his way to Tails. Metal was still after him, but the kid was running interference and getting in his way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Sonic shouted, hoping to steer Metal away from his unarmed little brother and his somewhat innocent doppelganger. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mind if I do,” Metal said, switching to a chipper attitude the moment he engaged him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ugh, couldn't he go back to being a silent killer? He missed it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic’s ears perked up as he heard the tell tale signs of a hammer being thrown at him. He ducked instinctively, and the hammer crashed a few feet away from him, forming a large crater. The hammer glitched sporadically as it sat there half buried in the dirt. Sonic smirked. If that thing could barely withstand the force of her throw, he wasn’t looking at Amy’s original hammer. Her heart wasn’t actually in this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll make this simple for you, Sonic. Hand over the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emerald, and we can go back to playing nice.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way, you don’t need any more gems of ultimate power. I’m cutting you off,” Sonic said. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She almost cracked a smile, and he hated how his heart kicked into overdrive at the sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you actually think you can stop me. That’s cute,” she said, summoning several sharp spires from the ground without giving him much warning. Sonic dodged them easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Ames, we were kind of in the middle of something here,” Metal Sonic cut in, coming between them as if she’d just stolen his favorite toy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy must have been thinking the same thing because she immediately rolled her eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Metal, why don’t you go grab Tails for me? I need to have a little chat with Sonic.” Her tone was somehow even more sickly sweet than usual, and she’d gone through the extra effort of placing an arm on the robot’s cold unfeeling shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic raised an eyebrow. Did she really think that would work? There was no way Metal would actually pass on a chance to get rid of him for good.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal pretended to rub the back of his neck as he looked down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you’re taking over then? That’s cool I guess. It’s only been my life’s purpose to destroy him but I don’t mind if it’s you,” Metal said, half rambling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic made a gagging motion. Coming from Metal, that was practically a confession. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t I murder him just a little?” He looked at her hopefully, begging her to say yes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He instantly deflated, and Sonic decided to rub salt in the wound by sticking his tongue out at him. Metal sent a half hearted glare his way before facing Amy one last time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, but the minute he does anything to hurt you, I’m stepping in,” Metal said, pressing a sharp metallic finger onto Amy’s nose. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic scoffed and crossed his arms. Of all the things he’d been expecting Metal to say, this was the most insulting. Did he forget how they met?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re one to talk. I’m not the kidnapper here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal’s speech devolved to a series of guttural robotic noises that was music to his ears. Sonic had an insult ready to go when Amy stepped in and dragged Metal back to her side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve got this Metal, really. Please let me handle Sonic.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal said nothing for a long moment, and Sonic half expected him to finally snap. Instead, he trailed his uncomfortably knife-like hands along Amy’s face. She gave him a knowing smile, stubbornly ignoring every red flag staring her in the face like always. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal blasted off in Tails direction. And again, his first instinct was to go defend his little brother, but Amy was right there and possibly possessed by something horrible if that brief glimpse of red was anything to go by. He might not get a better chance to free her if he took off now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you don’t want me dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>How was that for a conversation starter? Amy laughed, and he desperately begged whatever deities might be looking out for him that she wouldn’t notice his tail wagging a million miles per hour at the sound. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, never. Do you really think so little of me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pressed her hand to her heart and allowed herself to hover a little closer, an amused smile on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic wasn’t falling for it. Arms crossed, he eyed her skeptically, looking for any clue as to what she really felt. Amy continued to smile placidly at him, a frustratingly impenetrable ocean far beyond his reach. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What am I supposed to think when you send that thing after me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy sighed, ears drooping slightly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He wasn’t after you exactly,” she mumbled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic frowned, not exactly thrilled she’d sent that psychopath after his doppelganger. Had she forgotten what he really was underneath the shiny blue paint? If he hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened to the little guy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t believe you’d trust him with the kid, honestly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s golden laugh twisted into something unpleasant.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s more bark than bite these days,” she said with a dismissive wave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic looked away, trying not to think of why every other version of himself had a better relationship with her than he did right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn't say that. He nearly got me,” Sonic admitted reluctantly if only so she’d get that he wasn’t as harmless as his new attitude might have her believe. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy put a finger to her lips mulling over this new info. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm and I was so sure the behavioral therapy was working.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re giving therapy to a robot . . . incapable of change.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t quite keep his eye from twitching. There was a fine line between being compassionate and being too naive for your own good. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s perfect mask slipped, and she gave him a disapproving look. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sonic don’t say that. He’s you but angrier.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She might as well have smacked him with the full force of her hammer. It would have been less painful. Metal was everything he wasn’t, and that was a good thing.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re kidding right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy didn’t say a word. His happy go lucky attitude vanished, and he scrunched up his face in distaste. What was it about his friends that made them inexplicably attached to literal killing machines?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you want to see the best in people, but he’s literally a robot created to destroy me. You really have to learn to pick your battles, Amy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And another thing- wait, really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is a waste of time. Give me the emerald, and I’ll let you take the Master Emerald back to Knuckles,” she offered, allowing herself to come even closer to the ground as she held out an outstretched hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way, if you want to add this shiny to your collection, you’ll have to catch me first,” Sonic said, waving the emerald tauntingly in front of her before taking off into the desert. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy giggled, raising her hammer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose Shadow can wait a few more minutes,” she decided as a worrying amount of wild Chaos Energy gathered around her weapon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lucky me,” Sonic said, flashing her his most charming smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, he didn’t quite get the reaction he was hoping for. He barely managed to dodge as her hammer whizzed past him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Glad you’re starting to see things my way,” Amy said with a smirk, far too smug as she casually walked over and retrieved her hammer from yet another giant crater that she’d inflicted on the poor unassuming desert.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic took the opportunity to blast past her. Secretly, he was looking forward to the chase. Finally, something normal, a familiar dance, an even playing field where he knew the rules. He would run, and she would follow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Accept, she totally didn’t do that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic skidded to a halt already miles ahead of her. He absently tapped his foot, getting the tiniest bit impatient. She was sure taking her sweet time. After a minute or so, he doubled back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He found her still in the middle of the crater, fiddling with her weapon. The hammer glitched briefly in her hand, and Sonic caught her near imperceptible frown. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Something wrong?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She jumped, accidentally levitating off the ground, not at all expecting him to willingly give up the considerable lead she’d given him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t have come back. I was going to let you off the hook.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t get rid of me that easily. Just ask Eggman,” he said, casually stretching as he tried to come up with his next move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe, talking could still work? She hadn’t attacked him yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy giggled again. Eyes shining appreciatively as she looked him over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If only my destiny was still tied to yours, I wouldn’t have to cut this so short.”” she whispered.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic’s eyes widened as a bunch of sharp and potentially deadly spires started sprouting all around him. Okay, so, any chance of resolving this peacefully had just gone out the window. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>He instinctively used his spin dash to shoot past the rapidly materializing spires before Amy could properly corner him.  She kept summoning more and more spires in increasingly unpredictable patterns, but his speed and the fact that they were in a large expanse of desert saved him from falling prey to her attacks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re annoyingly good at this,” Amy said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic grinned, getting a little cocky. He might not have a plan B ready to go yet, but if this was the best she could do, he had all the time in the world to figure it out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Your make believe powers are impressive and all, but I'm afraid I’m too fast for ya,” Sonic said, turning around to catch a glimpse of her only to see nothing behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ended up tripping on a suspiciously black and red root, landing head first into the sand. He groaned and forced himself to get up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy reappeared like a shimmering mirage.There was an unfamiliar gleam in her eyes as she summoned her hammer. Sonic automatically tensed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You think so?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Again, it felt like a trap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’ve never been faster than me Amy. A fancy gem won’t change that.” Sonic said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She zipped over to him, raising her hammer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wanna bet?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He gulped, quickly darting out of the way before her hammer could come crashing down on top of him. Instead, the hammer ripped the earth beneath their feet apart, and he jumped high into the air to avoid getting buried underneath the rocks. He blinked and she was in front of him again, hammer at the ready. Sonic openly gaped at her, frozen for half a second. Then, he smiled</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That wasn’t the ruby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I’ll give you some credit. You have gotten a little faster. Been practicin’?” Sonic asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy nearly succeeded in bashing his head in when he decided to cheat and use Chaos Control to get away. He stifled a laugh at the frustrated noise she made when she hit nothing but air. It wouldn’t do to get caught before he thought up a decent plan B. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You definitely have,” she huffed, scanning the giant expanse of desert for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes instantly zeroed in on his hiding spot, and he hugged the Master Emerald more closely to his body. Had she noticed the emerald’s glow underneath the rubble? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Like an inferno, she blazed forward, dark energy flickering around her as if she were made of flames. Sonic shut his eyes, funneling the Master Emerald’s power into himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you really think you could hide while you were dragging a giant green rock around with you Sonic? You must really think I’m an idiot,” she shouted, directing the full force of her hammer down onto the pile of rubble he was hiding under. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her hammer never touched him. Sonic opened his eyes, amazed to see a green force field surrounding him. He hadn’t known he could do that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s hammer almost glitched out of existence but managed to pull itself together at the last second. The fiery aura surrounding her intensified as she looked at him in a way that made him want to squeeze under the rubble again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a fury fueled by a thousand disappointments, she smashed her hammer into the force field. Sonic concentrated, focusing on every good moment they ever had together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were a lot more than he thought. Sonic felt something wet on his cheek, and his force field glowed a brilliant green, easily fending off Amy’s hammer as it disappeared into nothing. He should have been happy, but the absolutely devastated look on Amy’s face made his stomach churn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no, no, why did I do that? I knew what would happen, and I still couldn’t change anything.  Am I just destined to destroy everything I touch?” she said, half sobbing as she fell to her knees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something told him this wasn’t actually about the hammer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay. That wasn’t your real hammer anyway,” he said, slowly walking towards her, genuinely worried that any little unexpected movement might scare her off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her sobs turned to sniffles, and she gave him a weak smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was it that obvious?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic relaxed, releasing some of the pent up tension in his muscles. He could get through to her. They could go home, and he wouldn’t have to fight another friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d lost so many friends this way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mind calling off your guard dog? We should really head back. You’ll miss Cream’s party.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy stiffened, locking eyes with him.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, Cream’s party. I’ve never missed one before,” she said, oddly distant. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to pressure you, but it looks like the little guy is losing steam,” Sonic said, gesturing to his mini me. The kid had stopped to catch his breath and shot him a dirty look for pointing it out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy giggled, picking herself up from the ground. She was already hovering above the sand by the time she made her way over to the other Sonic. Whatever she told the kid caught him by surprise, he pointed to himself and cocked his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes you, I know I can count on you to do the right thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other Sonic puffed up with pride and nearly took off then and there, but she easily scooped him up before he got the chance. He shot her an annoyed look and crossed his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, there’s no need to be a grumpy pants. I have a little surprise for you. Consider it an apology for earlier,” Amy said, conjuring the most delicious looking cake he’d ever seen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic was already salivating as he imagined taking a bite of Amy’s soft fluffy cake, remembering the way it would melt in his mouth and leave him feeling warm and wanted. Funnily enough, the kid didn’t seem as impressed. He frowned, absently playing with the icing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s the matter?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pointed to Tails desperately fighting off Metal Sonic in the background. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tails will be fine. This is really important. You don’t want to disappoint me, do you?” she begged, raising her voice another octave in an attempt to sound cute. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The kid hesitated, fretfully watching Tails’ every move. He nearly jumped out of her arms when the fox headed straight into Gamma’s barrage of bullets. Sonic smirked, knowing exactly what his little brother was up to. The robot wasn’t interested in hurting him, and let him fly past without incident. Unfortunately for Metal, every single bullet hit him instead, and the indignant robot stopped mid chase to squabble with his teammate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The little guy sighed in relief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s tougher than he looks,” Sonic assured him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly, so finish your cake and go,” Amy cut in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The other Sonic nodded, finally taking a bite. His eyes sparkled with emotion, and he eagerly stuffed his face full of cake. Sonic snickered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you sending him anyway? Why not take care of the Metal problem first so we can all go together?” he asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy instantly clammed up, and the dark aura around her spiked. Sonic ignored the sinking feeling in his stomach. Everything would be fine. There was no reason to be paranoid even if Amy was clearly being influenced by something. He wouldn’t hurt her if he didn’t have to.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, Amy. You’ve had your fun. Call him off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her silence was damming.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Amy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shoved a plate of cake into his arms. He marveled at the impossibly perfect strawberry shortcake, unsure what to feel. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you’d like a piece,” she explained when he remained uncharacteristically silent. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, Sonic wasn’t going to say no to cake. No matter how obvious it was she was stalling. But why? They weren’t fighting anymore, and she seemed to be in control of herself. Was he wrong about her? Would she doublecross him the moment she got the upper hand? No, something else was going on. He just needed to figure out what, and he would as soon as he finished this clearly magical cake. He didn’t even get a chance to take a bite.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you still doing here? And if you were just going to stand there drooling over cake, why didn’t you help me?” Tails asked, narrowing his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic smiled sheepishly. It’s not like he didn’t want to help. If anything, he’d been showing a surprising amount of restraint by not immediately jumping in at the first sign of trouble. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry Tails, I really thought I was getting through to her, but I’m not so sure anymore. ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails expression softened in understanding. They were both well aware of why Tails had come alone without any weapons on him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nevermind that, I need the other Sonic to help me take down Metal, and you can get started on plan B.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <span>Sonic stared at him blankly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have a plan B?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails’ eye twitched, and he clenched his fist, furiously shaking as he processed his tiny nerd rage. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you serious?” he shouted just as Metal Sonic finally managed to nab him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic stopped mid snicker and dropped everything to go after Metal. He’d just have to hope Amy would still be there when he got back. He racked his brain trying to think if Tails had said anything about another plan. Nope, he’d just rambled on and on about math. There’d been so much math. Maybe, he’d accidentally tuned out at a bad time? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tails, what should I do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails let out an exasperated sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The real ruby is-” Metal clamped a hand over his mouth and wagged his finger at Sonic letting him know it wasn’t going to be that easy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He  growled and launched himself at the robot. Metal was gone in a blink of an eye and reappeared behind him. No way, he was falling for that old move. He braced himself, ready to block yet another roundhouse kick, only to see Metal take off in the opposite direction with Tails. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was about to pursue when he heard Amy shout something in the distance.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now Gamma.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic was confused until he was suddenly slammed into the ground by gravity. Every part of him felt like it was getting crushed, and he was finding it hard to breathe. The sensation felt like drowning and he started to panic. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chaos Energy swirled around him, but he couldn’t focus long enough to do anything with it. The wind picked up as Amy rushed forward at lightning speed, raising her hammer high in the air. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh, don’t worry. Everything will be over in a flash.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic groaned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Really Amy? Of all the cheesy-” He didn’t get a chance to finish.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She swiped down and smashed the Master Emerald to pieces right in front of him. The shards scattered in all directions, lost somewhere in the middle of the desert. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah, Knuckles was definitely going to kill him.   </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She reached into his quills to grab the Chaos Emerald. He growled, frustrated she’d used such a dirty trick on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal flew down, holding a struggling Tails under his arm. Normally, he would have been furious that someone else defeated him, but he seemed content to let Amy have this one.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Watts the matter Sonic? Sad the spark has gone out of your relationship with Amy? You’re really acting the joule if you didn’t see that one coming.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy actually laughed at his stupid puns, adding insult to injury.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you got you ion on Amy, but you two have no chemistry. Why don’t you make like an atom and split?” Tails shouted, eager to come to his defense. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Metal let out a high pitched tremor and threatened him with his razor sharp claws. Amy placed a hand on his chest plate and held him back, giving him a look. A soft trill came out of his speakers, and he reluctantly retracted his claws. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like I won this round,” Amy said, crouching down to pat Sonic on the head. He growled again, and she giggled, scratching behind his ears. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Boy, I haven’t heard you growl like that since you were a werehog. I really ticked you off, huh?” Amy asked. He grunted, ears flat as he scanned the immediate area for his double. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was long gone. Typical. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Sonic, what just happened?” Tails asked in disbelief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We lost.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But the kid’s still-” Sonic cut him off, out of patience for the day.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tails, the kid is a spy. He’s not a terrible person or anything, but you have to accept this if we’re going to make it out of this mess. We can’t count on him. He probably sold us out for more cake,” Sonic explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His little brother wasn’t having it. Scowling, he attempted to pry himself free from Metal again with limited success. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The kid is not a spy. He probably went to get Knuckles,” Tails insisted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “Hey buddy, the sooner you get out of denial, the sooner we can come up with a new plan,” Sonic said, doing his best to keep his tone neutral. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tails saw right through him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You never believed in him. Why do you hate yourself so much?” Tails snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic almost said it but noticed Amy and Gamma quietly watching the show and kept his mouth shut. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please continue, this is a good opportunity to update your psychological profile. The information I received from Amy was . . . limited.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic decided he only ever liked one robot. Oh, and Omega was okay too when he wasn’t actively sassing him. He’d gotten pretty good at roasting people. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He blamed Rouge. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The kid almost let me die. I’m lucky he likes you,” he admitted if only to avoid the more damming question. It was enough to refocus everyone’s attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy pinched the bridge of her nose, muttering to herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remind me to have a talk with him about who does and doesn’t count as an authority figure.”  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have added it to your calendar for next, Friday.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Gamma.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“As for you two, the doctor will be coming for you soon, but I have faith you’ll be able to get out of this on your own. Nothing personal, I just need to get Shadow out of a jam.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t do this Amy. We’re your friends. We can help you,“ Tails pleaded with her, ear flat as he gave her his best puppy dog look. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In different circumstances, it might have worked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why are we fighting your friends? I thought friends did not fight each other,” Gamma asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy could feel her heartbeat quicken. What could she say that wouldn’t turn Gamma against her?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah Amy, why are you fighting your friends?” Sonic shot back, irritatingly cheerful despite being flattened like a pancake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s complicated Gamma. I’ll explain it to you later,” Amy said, hoping he’d drop the subject. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, friendship was one of the few things Gamma was actually passionate about, and she couldn’t delay the inevitable now that her robot understood what these people meant to her. He stepped forward and raised himself to his full height, attempting to command as much respect as possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I demand an explanation now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy pouted, unused to being defied. It was one of the few times she would have welcomed Metal’s input. He was busy absently patting Tails’ head as per his agreement to the little one to be nice to him. Apparently, he only knew the one gesture and had decided to reward the fox with a head pat every thirty seconds so long as he remained captured. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If she hadn’t been so stressed, she might have cooed at the sight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you wait five minutes?” she asked, growing desperate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s all she needed to fix this. She couldn’t lose another Shadow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gamma was silent for a long moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you regret turning your friends in to the doctor?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t answer quick enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Physiological data suggest yes. Releasing Hypergravity.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gamma no.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Too late, Sonic launched himself at Metal with enough force to knock him twenty feet. In the chaos, he dropped Tails, and the fox joined his older brother, grinning ear to ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I knew there was a reason I liked robots,” he said, glancing at Gamma who was getting an earful from Amy.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eh, I can take 'em or leave em,” Sonic said with a shrug. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sonic, you literally have a robot son.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was different. The same heart in another form, from someone he missed dearly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were saying something about the ruby?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, the real ruby is in the center of the  tower. If you can get a hold of it, then maybe-” He finished the thought for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can get her back,” he said, speeding towards Eggman semi-functioning base without a second thought. There was only one problem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chaos Control.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He forgot who he was up against. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time he was unfrozen, she was miles ahead of him, heading straight for the tower. He sighed. It was like he was facing Shadow for the first time all over again. He hadn’t been above cheating then, but really, who was he to judge. He felt the corners of his mouth perk up. He didn’t mind chasing her for a change. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Go meet up with Knuckles and uh tell him the bad news. I've got a race to win,” Sonic said, only half listening as Tails raged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, no way I’m telling him that the sacred object of his people ended up scattered all over the desert, again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry Tails, but I really gotta jet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was their last shot. He’d make it up to him later. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The layout of the base wasn’t as difficult to navigate as he thought it’d be. Basically one straight line that would take him right to the center, assuming he could avoid the lasers that were still online, and the many pitfalls specifically placed there to trip him up. Nothing new to get excited about. Afterall, Eggman was constantly recycling his toys. A weird gravity trap here, a troop of robots there, everything was a piece of cake so far. Then, he found himself faced with a situation that changed everything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy was on her hands and knees on the verge of collapsing. A giant mech loomed over her, ready to fire. His instincts took over, and he snatched her away from danger. She was as light as he remembered, and when she desperately latched onto his neck, he couldn’t help but hope that she’d finally come around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sonic, thank you, this is more than I deserve.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Emotions he couldn’t quite identify came to the surface. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, don’t say that. Everyone makes mistakes. How did this big lug even manage to take you down? You were running circles around me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic avoided the heat seeking missiles headed for them and managed to get a few of the missiles to crash into the giant mech. The thing barely reacted to the hits and started firing lasers all over the place. Fun but he wasn’t in the right headspace to enjoy it, not when Amy was in such rough shape. He needed to get them out of there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Eggman cut me off from the ruby’s power, and punching something that huge wasn’t doing much good.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s weird. Before your robot sabotaged you, you totally had us beat, and it’s not like the doctor to give up an ally that gives him an edge. So, what did you do to make him mad?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic grinned knowingly. Amy increased the death grip she had on him. It finally clicked that she was only clinging to him because she was scared. That knowledge hurt more than it should have.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you do me one last favor? I promise I won’t ask anything of you after this,” she asked as if he really wouldn’t forgive her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. I’ll always help you if you need it,” he promised. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy was dangerously close to bursting into tears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t cry though,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She let out a weak chuckle and lessened her grip on his neck. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I need you to rescue Shadow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Done.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What an easy ask, he was going to do that anyway. The guy might be out of his mind right now, but they had too much shared history for Sonic to ever truly abandon him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And, you have to promise me you won’t take his Chaos Emerald. ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That one is gonna cost ya,” he said, holding out his hand expectantly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy sighed, taking out his stolen Chaos Emerald. She reluctantly shoved it into his hand without looking at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, it’s not like I can use it right now anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic was reminded of the million and one questions he had for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why not?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy bit her lip. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he’s mad at me,” she muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m gonna need a better explanation than that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We-We’ve been sharing Chaos Energy,” she said, a light blush on her cheeks as she looked everywhere but at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic raised an eyebrow. That was possible? Neat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He really should get those lessons on Chaos Energy from Shadow once he was feeling more like himself. As for what all this implied, well, he was already dead set on confronting Shadow one way or another. If he wanted to do things the hard way, he was more than looking forward to it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry. I’ll get him back for ya. Where is that old fuddy duddy anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s still in the ruby’s containment chamber. Eggman has him locked up there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A stray laser nearly hit her. “Eep, can we do something about the giant robot now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic grinned. He’d been giving the annoyingly slow mech the run around for long enough. He had bigger fish to fry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought you’d never ask.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reluctantly set her down and shot up into the air, curling into a ball as he prepared his spin dash. He aimed for the robot’s central processing core and was pleasantly surprised when his sharp spines easily cut through the mech’s armor. He went straight through it, and the thing collapsed under its own weight. He dusted himself off and made his way back to Amy. The doctor was getting lazy if that was the best he had to offer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s get going.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He held his arms out, expecting her to jump into them. She walked straight past him, adorably giddy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re finally going on  a mission together,” she said, clapping her hands excitedly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonic’s face fell. Normally, he wasn’t one to hold Amy back but . . .</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, Amy, quick question, do you have any way to defend yourself right now? Maybe, your old hammer?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy’s shoulders slumped, completely losing her initial enthusiasm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, but I know I’ll be safe with you. Besides, I can throw a mean punch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pretended to box him, throwing punches at the air to emphasize her point. He frowned, not at all convinced her boxercise lessons would do much good in this situation, especially when she was already all scraped up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced down at the Chaos Emerald and decided to cheat one last time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I get a quick hug?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fact she wasn’t remotely suspicious when she jumped into his arms made him feel so much worse. He just wanted to protect her, honest. And, how could he do that if the Phantom Ruby hijacked her brain again or the doctor used her against him? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“ Don’t hate me for this. See ya real soon.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What-” She blinked out of existence, hopefully somewhere near Tails. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With any luck, he’d be done with his little rescue mission before she managed to make her way back into Eggman’s base to yell at him. At least if she did, he knew he could count on Tails and Knuckles to keep her out of trouble. He dashed ahead, sensing a Chaos Emerald nearby. The signal was super weak, but it had to be Shadow’s.    </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eggman’s speakers blared to life, giving out an annoying screech. He quickly covered his ears. What a pain, he never liked when the doctor decided to taunt him from afar. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sonic, return the Phantom Ruby at once, or I guarantee that your fox and echidna friend won’t get out of the desert in one piece.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wait, how in the world had Egghead come to that conclusion? He’d only been in the building five minutes, tops. It was literally impossible. Unless . . .</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She framed me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amy really had been spending too much time with Shadow. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Okay, so, maybe, she did trick you into trusting her so she could lure you into a trap, but you don’t know that for sure, Sonic. Give her the benefit of the doubt and go find Shadow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t take him long to find the ruby’s containment chamber at max speed. He smashed it open and found Shadow perfectly unharmed standing in the center of the room, waiting for him. Yeah, he’d definitely walked into a trap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You, you’re a bad influence,” he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Shadow.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure why he decided to lead with that. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shadow smirked as if he knew something he didn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That blue hedgehog here of all places. ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want to relive the past so bad, fine. Let’s have a rematch, buddy. ”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His smirk morphed into a brilliant smile as he held up the ruby, strangely playful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It all starts with this. A jewel containing the ultimate power. The question is are you brave enough to challenge me or will you run like the coward you are?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His eyes were faded and dull, but they seemed to come to life and burn into him by the end of his little speech, almost as if he were talking to someone else entirely. Not that it mattered, there was really only one answer to a challenge like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bring it on, old man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Again, his eyes glowed an otherworldly color.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you have no idea.”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Song Picks/General Music Vibes for the chapter: </p>
<p>Amy's POV:</p>
<p>Should I Stay or Should I Go by Kylie Minogue</p>
<p>My Version of You by Beth Crowley</p>
<p>Infinite cover by Emi Jones ft. Jesse Pajamas</p>
<p>(Sedgie) Ready as I'll Ever Be (Female solo cover ft. Ashley)</p>
<p>Honorable Mention:</p>
<p>You are so Beautiful (ft. Brooke) Dark Cinematic Cover</p>
<p>Monsters by Ruelle</p>
<p>Game of Survival by Ruelle</p>
<p>Crossing the line by Mandy Moore</p>
<p>Sonic's POV:</p>
<p>"Don't Speak by Hidden Citizens</p>
<p>Honorable Mention:</p>
<p>Ever Fallen in Love by Pete Yorn</p>
<p>Notes: Thank you for reading this monster of a chapter. It was a lot of fun, and I hope the wait was worth it. We have at least one more chapter of Sonic shenanigans before it's time to deal with the aftermath of this encounter. Till next time.</p>
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